This is the road between Monkton Farleigh and South Wraxall.  It’s in a very bad state at the moment and the council can’t be bothered to fix it, so unless you’re in a tractor it needs to be taken very carefully.

The road has probably been in existence since Anglo-Saxon times, but Wiltshire Council says it and similar roads may have to be abandoned in the future due to the lack of resources to keep them maintained.

In response to requests to mend the road surface WC highways engineers say:

“The area office is aware of the condition of Rushmead Lane and we are fighting a continuous battle to ensure it is in a suitable condition for highway users. The lane is typical of historic sunken lanes where the surface of the carriageway is lower than the surrounding land and so any water runoff ends up in the highway. Without an efficient drainage system this water ends up destroying the surface.

The lane has been pot hole repaired in recent weeks, however the freezing weather conditions and the amount of water has caused further deterioration which has been programed for repair. In many places along the lane the wearing course has been lost. This wearing course forms a water protection layer which prevent water ingress into the foundation layers of the carriageway, without this layer the deterioration of the carriageway is accelerated. With the current reductions in major maintenance it is not possible to indicate when resources would be available to address the many issues in the lane.

The drainage system was jetted on the week commencing 5^th March and all the gullies were running and yet within 2 weeks the system has become blocked again allowing water to run down the surface.

With the limited resources available to the area office responses have to be prioritised against areas of highway in the most need. The lane is regularly inspected as part of the council routine safety inspection program and any defects record will be programed for repair.

Rushmead Lane is indicative of many lanes the council owns. In the near future the council as the local highway authority will have to make some hard decisions on whether it is economically viable to maintain such lanes at their current status or whether their status should altered in line with their usage.”

 

 

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