These suggestons may seem a bit 'out there' but I genuinly think they might help.

1. Employ more than one workman. He looks like a sound chap when ever I see him either near the Wicker or near the Riverside pub in his flourecent jacket and I am not doubting his abilities but I do think if there was another one they could get the job done quicker...

2. See 1.

:roll:

Is this the same one who looks furtively around in case his 25 managers catch him slacking:hihi:

These suggestons may seem a bit 'out there' but I genuinly think they might help.

1. Employ more than one workman. He looks like a sound chap when ever I see him either near the Wicker or near the Riverside pub in his flourecent jacket and I am not doubting his abilities but I do think if there was another one they could get the job done quicker...

2. See 1.

:roll:

What a ridiculous suggestion. Of course the council employ more than one workman. The other one is on Division Street staring in to a trench.:roll:

I'm also thinking that it might be an idea to finish even one small bit of it. What's the point of digging up every road round there and then leaving them unusable for two years?

What they usually do is do most of the road apart from the last six to ten yards then have a rest . This is so the motorist doesn't get too complacent and has a good idea of what the road layout will look like before it opens.

It's a private contractor constructing the Relief Road, NOT the council. :rolleyes:

The reason roads never get finished is simple, by the time the road is nearly finished, town planners have already put into place road closures, new one ways systems and bus/tram gates which means the workman can't get anywhere near the area they need to work.
A simple case of the left hand not having a clue what the right is doing..Sorted!:loopy:

Ousetunes doths familiar cynical cap here and suggests that it's taking so long because all the rain we had got into the electricity cables that had been laid for the ninety sets of traffic lights and pedestrian crossings that were to be another feature of the ring road.

The idea of the ring road, in most cases, would be to speed traffic in, out and (particularly in Sheffield's case) around the city centre. Trouble is, our council sees a new road as a blank sheet of paper onto which they throw darts to ascertain where they can put more of these hold-the-traffic-up-at-any-rate traffic lights. Just look at the number of traffic lights between West Bar roundabout and Nursery Street! You can't travel ten yards without confronting a set of lights.

During a recent journey from Meadowhall Retail Park to Commonside I counted no fewer than (IIRC) 31 sets of traffic lights/pedestrian crossings. A distance of what, 3 miles? I'd love to know how much these things cost.

It's a private contractor constructing the Relief Road, NOT the council. :rolleyes:

Perhaps the contractor has gone bust and the lone yellow-jacket is a watchman appointed by the receiver to make sure nobody pinches all the cones ?

It's a private contractor constructing the Relief Road, NOT the council. :rolleyes:

So why have the council not put penalty clauses into the contract. I moved to Sheffield a year and a half ago and progress is very slow. In other parts of the country contractors are set a delivery date with bonuses for finishing early and penalties for finishing late. Spital Hill looked like something was happening but then it all stopped.

I rather get the feeling that they are trying to work on too many things at once.

So why have the council not put penalty clauses into the contract. I moved to Sheffield a year and a half ago and progress is very slow. In other parts of the country contractors are set a delivery date with bonuses for finishing early and penalties for finishing late.
I'm sure there will be clauses in the contract that punish the contractor in some way for not meeting deadlines.

The IRR is a huge scheme and can't possibly be done overnight. There will have been hundreds of metres of new stats to lay (which most people don't appreciate cos they don't actually see that bit) There are two new major bridges and a huge retaining wall behind the Wicker arches that needed constructing, many won't have seen this properly yet cos it's on a stretch not open. There will have been dozens of CPOs required for buildings to be demolished and also a lot of accomodation works to properties and businesses affected. On top of that there's the recent flooding which has put things back a number of weeks.

So why have the council not put penalty clauses into the contract. I moved to Sheffield a year and a half ago and progress is very slow. In other parts of the country contractors are set a delivery date with bonuses for finishing early and penalties for finishing late.

What makes you think there aren't penalty clauses. Have you seen the contracts?

How do you know progress is very slow? Slow compared to what? What are the reasons?

I'm fed up of reading purile garbage on here from keyboard whingers with apparently very little to do except moan about things they know nothing about.

There are already 3 threads on here this week by the way.

I'm sure there will be clauses in the contract that punish the contractor in some way for not meeting deadlines.

The IRR is a huge scheme and can't possibly be done overnight. There will have been hundreds of metres of new stats to lay (which most people don't appreciate cos they don't actually see that bit) There are two new major bridges and a huge retaining wall behind the Wicker arches that needed constructing, many won't have seen this properly yet cos it's on a stretch not open. There will have been dozens of CPOs required for buildings to be demolished and also a lot of accomodation works to properties and businesses affected. On top of that there's the recent flooding which has put things back a number of weeks.

The majority of the major work has been done, buildings purchased and demolished, the bridges built etc etc. Spital Hill was supposed to be reopened last september and the mangled junction at the bottom is just dangerous, similar to the section by thr riverside pub. If all the people who are currently resurfacing the parkway or digging up the section of road near the no frills DIY shop below ST Mary's Gate were concentrating on the main sections of ringroad which have come to a complete standstill they could be open by now.

The bottom of Spital Hill is an absolute nightmare! The lack of a decent, well-marked pathway and the ill-marked out road makes me glad I'm a petrol-legs and not a pedestrian.

By the way, I spotted three additional yellow-coats this morning. They were hiding behind the Harlequin having a fag. It must have been an executive board meeting or summat, as they were still there more than 30 mins later when I went past again.

From what I've heard unofficially traffic will not be flowing around the new scheme unhindered until Jan 2008.

If all the people who are currently resurfacing the parkway or digging up the section of road near the no frills DIY shop below ST Mary's Gate were concentrating on the main sections of ringroad which have come to a complete standstill they could be open by now. How many times do some people need telling? THE RELIEF ROAD IS BEING CONSTRUCTED BY PRIVATE CONTRACTORS NOT THE COUNCIL. :rolleyes:

It may be being constructed by a contractor, but the council is the client (picking up the bill!!) so they should and proberbly could give them a kick up the *** & tell them to get a few dozen more men on the job.

I think the problem is that councils or private contractors are not allowed to close roads for extended time periods to enable them to throw men and machines at the work.

On an episode of top gear earlier this year (and yes I'm aware that this is just a TV program and it was just a small country road) but they closed a road for 24 hours and totally resurfaced it in that time, the local council quoted a three week timescale for this work, with periods of one way traffic working.

As a car driver I'm quite sure my road tax and petrol tax would cover this, although sadly we may not be able to pay for new offices for MP's at a £1,000,000 per office.

It may be being constructed by a contractor, but the council is the client (picking up the bill!!) so they should and proberbly could give them a kick up the *** & tell them to get a few dozen more men on the job.

I think you'll find the govt. are picking up the tab - the council will be acting in a supervisory role (clerk of works) and organising access and diversions etc.

I'm fed up of reading purile garbage on here from keyboard whingers with apparently very little to do except moan about things they know nothing about.

Or legitimate criticism from accountable taxpayers regarding a significant project that they're paying for. If you went to a restaurant and ate a meal that you were dissatisfied with, would you refrain from criticising it because you weren't culinary trained, whereas the chef is?

what gets me is that you get one working and 7 watching him

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig_%28Boston%2C_Massachusetts%29

Its not just Sheffield ! lets hope they dont ever try doing a big dig here! Basically building huge tunnels and putting half the city road network underground!!