‘UNSTABLE and inadequate’ were the words used to describe repairs to the A701 by Moffat and District Community Council (MDCC) on Tuesday night.
Concerns over the safety of motorcyclists and cyclists were raised at the group’s monthly meeting by a member of the public who described ‘tramlines’ appearing in the section of the road leading to the town from the motorway.
MDCC secretary Mick Barker has continued to openly criticise the standard of the repairs and the council’s roads department and this week he said: “The roads department has continued their policy of not reaching out or explaining anything that they are doing, why they are doing it, or a programme of what they are going to do – despite publicity.
“I did report the various road safety issues to the community safety team when they were here and they said they were nothing to do with the council because they were to do with roads. I was a bit surprised that no one used the word ‘us’ when referring to the council, apparently roads are some other department that deal with their own stuff unrelated to the rest of the council.
“When you get to the issue of the A701, surface dressing is acknowledged as a low cost, high speed fix for a road that needs upgraded.
“Unfortunately when the work was done on the A701 it appears that large areas didn’t get their fair share of bitumen and chips so that left an unstable and inadequate surface.
“I haven’t bothered to raise the issue with the roads department because I know I’m just going to get waffle back from them.”
