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Campus Roads

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Users of the Southern Ring Road will, no doubt, have noticed the recent outbreak of variation in road surface. They may not be aware that the construction of campus roads in concrete was intended by the original landscape designer, Dame Sylvia Crowe, to imitate the appearance of downland chalk paths. The difficulty which has now arisen is that, as the concrete deteriorates, the only way to repair it in the existing material is to dig the road up and re-lay it completely - a very expensive, and disruptive, option. The Estates Division is, therefore, exploring different methods of remedying the increasingly poor state of repair of the roads throughout the campus, to determine a solution which is effective, cost efficient and aesthetically acceptable.

One stretch of the Southern Ring Road has been treated with the material that would be most effective in terms of guaranteed life, safety of the surface and ease of maintenance - a product known as 'Safepave', which gives the appearance of tarmacadam. However, as this is available only in red or black, an alternative product is also being investigated - the anti-skid surface which has been used on the second stretch of the road. This has the advantage of blending with the existing colour of the roads, but does not carry the same guaranteed life span and may entail higher maintenance costs.

The two surfaces have been laid in order to assess their potential weaknesses in terms of safety, cost effectiveness, reaction to heavy use and winter weather. A judgement will be made towards the end of the winter, with a view to instigating a rolling programme of road repairs. Any comments or queries should be addressed to the Maintenance Manager, Rod Nash on 8636, email: R.J.Nash@sussex.ac.uk.

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Friday October 10th 1997