I live in the country, a place where there’s more sheep than people.
Our house is situated at the end of a single-track lane.
Not much traffic - nice.
Every year, the local county council arrives with a truck full of tarmac and fills the many potholes. The quality of the repairs, and their subsequent success, varies. I think it depends on the crew's experience, ability, and care.
I’ve witnessed a range of outcomes over the years.
- From beautifully executed, road level, repairs that appear to last a lifetime.
- To randomly patched chasms.
Repairs that look like the tarmac was added with a stick and flattened with a sock. Terribly trickled Tarmac that’s guaranteed…
Guaranteed to spill out and the creators to re-emerge just a couple of days later.
Fixing holes like this is never ending; like filling a leaky bucket or painting the Forth Bridge. Except that second analogy is a myth.
And has been for many years. The Forth Bridge hasn’t been painted since 2011. And won’t be for another 20 years.
The solution?
They found new paint. 30 year paint.
Considering the limited financial resources of Northumberland County Council, it’s unlikely that they will lay a new road.
However, I do wonder about the long-term effectiveness of repeatedly (badly) filling the same rubbly ruts.
Filling a hole and doing it well once, is a fix. Filling the same hole annually could be defined as maintenance.
Badly filling the same hole, over and over, is crazy.
And yet…
You know this is an analogy. And you’ve already worked out I’m talking about you. You know what needs to be repaired.
The question is... temporary fix or permanent resolution?
Please let me know what you think below.
Be Brilliant!
Michael
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