Re: Closure of a minor country lane

[eagleye]

Wow! That's expensive. Last time we had traffic management for a day I think it was about £400. That was on an A road too. Not total closure just down to one lane with lights for the stretch we were working and then a total stop for a few minutes to fell the bigger limbs etc.

that's what we normally do road closure is a PITA and expensive

if it,s a reasonably quite road wack em on red both ways for a few minutes

drop the big limb

job done

and £400 is about what we pay

[Chipperclown]

Thanks guys helpful answers all round

[rustcutter]

If it is a single track and really quiet road then it is alright to obstruct for a short while; I am figure we used to quote as the rule; when I was on B.T. poling with a poling truck was 10 minutes. If anybody was really kicking off then we'd usually move but as we were on piece work we'd usually complete the operation before moving. We were all officially dressed and with roadworks cards and signs, etc all in place. I remember one day we had blocked the road as described; the road didn't go anywhere so we weren't expecting any hassle. Very soon after blocking the road and disconnecting the wires we were altering the pole route for, a water board van came screaming up like "Dukes of Hazzard" style and guy went absolutely mad shouting and bawling about the obstructed road; however when we calmed the chap and enquired what was the urgent mission he was on bearing in mind the road was going nowhere. It turned out the ultimate destination on this road was a reservoir and all the alarms in the works there were going as if the place had blown up all the phone links had failed; we explained that it was likely that all was o.k. and our disconnecting all the phones was probably the cause of the problem. He calmed a bit and we had got to a point we could let him by.

However our actions were all officially approved and if blocking the road was unavoidable then it was o.k.; I can't remember ever having a proper road closure for these works which might have been 10 minutes duration. We were always with two or three large vehicles and mob handed with men never had more than a little disgruntled motorist type grief.

[Dan Curtis]

I am based in Herts. Not sure where I would stand legally if challenged or worst by controlling the traffic my self with an untrained team etc, pretty sure I wouldn't have a leg to stand on though. Car wise using the road around 20 per hour maybe at a rough guess.

 

You are right, without correct tickets/permissions if something was to go pear shaped you'd be up for the high jump.

 

If you do decide to go down the temporary closure route, bear in mind the possibility of an emergency vehicle needing to get somewhere and try to keep the road as clear as possible.

[Mortimer Firewood]

If it's a back lane IE car every 20 mins park your truck one side a tractor the other cut grab tip it over the hedge.

 

Local tree officer told me apply the common sense rule.

[eagleye]

If it's a back lane IE car every 20 mins park your truck one side a tractor the other cut grab tip it over the hedge.

 

Local tree officer told me apply the common sense rule.

 

lots of people apply the common sense rule until it goes tits up

then the common sense thing to do was have proper TM

and a word of warning Kent county council seem to be having a purge on people not using TM and applying for permits

[Dan Curtis]

Local tree officer told me apply the common sense rule.

 

Nice to know your tree officer is branching out into highways issues

[Dan Curtis]

You are right, without correct tickets/permissions if something was to go pear shaped you'd be up for the high jump.

 

If you do decide to go down the temporary closure route, bear in mind the possibility of an emergency vehicle needing to get somewhere and try to keep the road as clear as possible.

 

To add to this, things don't have to go wrong for you to get grief. Highways inspectorate can and do do spot checks, I've had 3 visits from them in the last few years. They're also self funding so fines can be 'within reason' for the offence

[rustcutter]

I had a quick look; there is a section covering this in the NRSWA code of practice:

 

Traffic control for temporary obstruction of the carriageway

On occasions, activities are required in the carriageway or footway that temporarily restrict or prevent the

free passage of road users past the works, or reduce the width of carriageway to less than 2.5 metres.

Such activities include the collection and delivery of materials. In some circumstances it is not possible or

practical to provide an alternative route because of widths or other factors, or to apply a full Road Closure.

A ‘Stop – works’ sign or ‘Temporary obstruction 15 minutes delay’ sign may be appropriate in these situations.

 

The full c.o.p. is here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321056/safety-at-streetworks.pdf

I am in other employment nowadays so don't know the current exact thing but the "Roads and Streetworks" course I did was only a day and that covered surface reinstatement as well. The card you hold means that you can set up a roadworks site and dig the road; when the council chap comes along and says you can't do that then he can't stop you. Only one member of the gang need have the card but would then be overall responsible for signs, guarding, etc. I have in the past done this engaged in "private" works with borrowed signs etc made sure everything was right though.

If you are working on behalf of the council then you can forget the lot; another job I was on involved parking the hiab lorry in the "inside" lane on a live roundabout in a town with no signage or guarding. Craning stuff on and off the lorry into and out of our worksite in the middle of the roundabout; the council offices were just off the roundabout; our council man we were dealing with just said try to avoid the busiest times of day.

[eagleye]

I had a quick look; there is a section covering this in the NRSWA code of practice:

 

Traffic control for temporary obstruction of the carriageway

On occasions, activities are required in the carriageway or footway that temporarily restrict or prevent the

free passage of road users past the works, or reduce the width of carriageway to less than 2.5 metres.

Such activities include the collection and delivery of materials. In some circumstances it is not possible or

practical to provide an alternative route because of widths or other factors, or to apply a full Road Closure.

A ‘Stop – works’ sign or ‘Temporary obstruction 15 minutes delay’ sign may be appropriate in these situations.

 

The full c.o.p. is here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321056/safety-at-streetworks.pdf

I am in other employment nowadays so don't know the current exact thing but the "Roads and Streetworks" course I did was only a day and that covered surface reinstatement as well. The card you hold means that you can set up a roadworks site and dig the road; when the council chap comes along and says you can't do that then he can't stop you. Only one member of the gang need have the card but would then be overall responsible for signs, guarding, etc. I have in the past done this engaged in "private" works with borrowed signs etc made sure everything was right though.

If you are working on behalf of the council then you can forget the lot; another job I was on involved parking the hiab lorry in the "inside" lane on a live roundabout in a town with no signage or guarding. Craning stuff on and off the lorry into and out of our worksite in the middle of the roundabout; the council offices were just off the roundabout; our council man we were dealing with just said try to avoid the busiest times of day.

we work for a LA and if "we can forget the lot" we can forget getting anymore work that's how we get work by doing it properly from start to finish