In Cornwall, England, residents are no strangers to the state of their roads. However, one anonymous individual recently took matters into their own hands and filled a giant pothole on Tanhouse Road and Bodmin Hill in Lostwithiel with cement.
While their DIY repair provided temporary relief, it ultimately led to a kerfuffle between the unidentified motorist, the Cornwall Council, and road repair company Cormac.
The road had been officially closed at the beginning of April due to ongoing drainage issues. But after a month of government inactivity, the frustrated motorist decided to tackle the problem themselves over the first weekend in May. As a result, the road was briefly reopened, only to be closed again by Cormac, who insisted that their team needed to carry out the repairs officially.
Now, Cornwall Highways is on a mission to find the individual responsible for this unauthorized repair. They have expressed their desire for information about the motorist to be shared with the community. Meanwhile, Colin Martin, the Cornwall councilor for Lanreath and Lostwithiel, sees the pothole as a vivid representation of the overall deterioration in the public sector due to underinvestment.
According to Mr. Martin, the road closure will remain in effect until Cormac completes the repairs, which could take weeks since their teams are currently focused on filling smaller potholes on open roads. He also criticizes the budget cuts for road maintenance made by the Conservatives running Cornwall Council in recent years, resulting in a surge of potholes across the county.
This incident of a citizen taking matters into their own hands reminds us of a similar situation in 2017, when a Toronto resident built a set of park stairs for a community garden at a fraction of the estimated cost provided by the city. However, the city did not respond favorably to this independent initiative. Find out more about their reaction in the following section.