Road roughness

niloc1951

The N72 east of Lismore is currently being resurfaced. The work appears to involve a new sub layer and a new top surface.
While travelling on the section which is finished I noticed that it particularly rough, it felt like I was travelling over a 'washboard' surface. The corrugation effect could be clearly felt inside the vehicle I was travelling which was only two years old with only 23K Kms on the clock.

I have noticed this effect elsewhere also, one place that comes readily to mind is the Fermoy bypass southbound section of the M8.

See HERE for all the reasons why a smooth pavement is desirable. Do the NRA or their sub-contractors know of a benefit of corrugating a road surface, which is unknown to the author of the above article, or is it just bad workmanship and supervision.

miller50841

Hi hows things I don't know the road but would you find it bumpy or effecting the road handling of the car if so it be worth while to send a letter or e mail to the local authority. Its better all round if smooth for noise and comfort and also less likely for when colder wheather (ice) is around that it would hold up in the gaps.

niloc1951

miller50841 wrote: »

Hi hows things I don't know the road but would you find it bumpy or effecting the road handling of the car if so it be worth while to send a letter or e mail to the local authority. Its better all round if smooth for noise and comfort and also less likely for when colder wheather (ice) is around that it would hold up in the gaps.

The resurfacing is currently work in progress, the roughness should be obvious to the engineer responsible for signing the work off who should call for corrective measures before authorising payment. That is unless the roughness is being built in by design, contrary to the guidelines in www.smoothpavements.com

mathepac

What has that American document got to do with Irish Roads or Irish engineers? Is it required reading here for the NRA or Local Authorities?

Road-Hog

mathepac wrote: »

What has that American document got to do with Irish Roads or Irish engineers? Is it required reading here for the NRA or Local Authorities?

I always thought the smoother the road surface, the less skid resistance therefore impacting on a vehicles breaking/stopping ability/distance.........think about how difficult it is to walk on an ice covered footpath (smooth) versus an uniced one (rough)?

niloc1951

mathepac wrote: »

What has that American document got to do with Irish Roads or Irish engineers? Is it required reading here for the NRA or Local Authorities?

The fact that is from the U.S. is irrelevant, but the message it contains surely is. After all it contains many good reasons why smooth roads are beneficial in relation to safety, cost, and reduced wear and tear both to the road surface itself and vehicles using it.
Don't shoot the messenger, as they say .

As regards your question, is it required reading for the NRA or L.A's, perhaps the roughness of some of the surface of some of our new roads and re-paved sections of existing roads answers that question.

niloc1951

Road-Hog wrote: »

I always thought the smoother the road surface, the less skid resistance therefore impacting on a vehicles breaking/stopping ability/distance.........think about how difficult it is to walk on an ice covered footpath (smooth) versus an uniced one (rough)?

Ice, like oil and wetness, is a friction reducer. A smooth road will maximise the tyre contact area increasing its grip, a smooth road will also reduce vertical vertical wheel travel giving a constant contact pressure which also aids grip.

pegasus1

The N10 Waterford road south of Kilkenny city has also been resurfaced during the last couple of months...
The top surface has the slight washboard effect going diagonally across the road, along the total length of the road(10kms).

This can be seen at night when it has been raining...

I did notice people working on the surfacing machine when it was layed up beside the road for a few days..don't think they fixed the problem.

mathepac

niloc1951 wrote: »

The fact that is from the U.S. is irrelevant, but the message it contains surely is. ...

niloc1951 wrote: »

... After all it contains many good reasons why smooth roads are beneficial in relation to safety, cost, and reduced wear and tear both to the road surface itself and vehicles using it. ...

and of course if it's good in the good old US of A it must be good enough for us.

niloc1951 wrote: »

... Don't shoot the messenger, as they say . ...

But the message is yours and yours alone, at least I haven't heard of other proponents of the document, or are you the spokesman for some sort of "continuity NRA"?

niloc1951 wrote: »

The fact that is from the U.S. is irrelevant,
...

I believe it's very relevant. If you've driven extensively in the US you'll have noticed several significant differences between their roads and ours, both the highways and the bye-ways.

niloc1951 wrote: »

... As regards your question, is it required reading for the NRA or L.A's, perhaps the roughness of some of the surface of some of our new roads and re-paved sections of existing roads answers that question.

It doesn't answer my question at all, it just makes your argument circular.

Road-Hog

niloc1951 wrote: »

Ice, like oil and wetness, is a friction reducer. A smooth road will maximise the tyre contact area increasing its grip, a smooth road will also reduce vertical vertical wheel travel giving a constant contact pressure which also aids grip.

theoretically what you say is correct and you could add in bald tyres also but in practical terms due to a thing called rain, polished smooth road surfaces and slick tyres are not a good idea hence a textured wearing course and threaded tyres are the norm

Hotblack Desiato

Remember when the N9 went through the middle of Castledermot? Some genius decided to scrape off the wearing course and then leave it like that, for about 4-5 years. It was particularly 'fun' trying to follow the wavy grooves on a motorcycle, you were only in control until you decided to steer rather than let the road steer you... So no, nothing the NRA have done, from wire rope barriers to no service areas to stupid lane-drop-when-it's-not-a-lane-drop signs does anything to convice me the NRA have a clue or can learn from the experience of other countries.

niloc1951

Road-Hog wrote: »

theoretically what you say is correct and you could add in bald tyres also but in practical terms due to a thing called rain, polished smooth road surfaces and slick tyres are not a good idea hence a textured wearing course and threaded tyres are the norm

Agree 100%, but in my OP I was referring to the 'washboard' effect surface as referred to by pegasus1.

There is a differenced between a 'smooth' surface, as in the newer sections of the M8 for example and a worn out 'polished' surface