THURROCK Council has responded to residents' concerns about the potential finished quality of the road surface that will be part of the A13 widening project – saying when it's done it will last for up to 40 years.

In recent weeks, significant new sections of carriageway have been laid as part of the widening project, particularly on the section between the BP garages and the Manorway roundabout but the quality of the road surface has been a point of conversation on local social media.

Particularly concerned have been motorbike riders who say the new surface is slippy and undulating.

However, the council, which is running the much-delayed and massively over-budget widening project, says the surface currently being used on new sections of the road is not the finished article.

Thurrock Nub News asked what stage the resurfacing was at and received the following reply: "As part of the project, new surfacing material is being laid in multiple areas that has a life expectancy of up to 40 years, with routine maintenance every 15 years depending on weather conditions and traffic usage.

"The carriageways currently installed as part of the project are the intermediate surfacing layer, with additional layers to be added in due course to build the road up to its final level and alignment.

"This is standard practice within highways construction projects. At times during the construction process there may be small changes in levels noticeable to some drivers however all roads are safe and continue to be monitored. A 40mph temporary speed limit remains in place which drivers must follow at all times.

"In its finished state, the road users and local residents will benefit from the new, low-noise road surface across all carriageway lanes of the A13 between Stanford-le-Hope and Orsett."

News that the surface has such a long life expectancy will undoubtedly please members of the council's standards and audit overview and scrutiny committee who wanted a briefing on the materials used on the project and how long it would be before the council had to dip into its coffers again. They were keen to get some answers about cost - but ended up disappointed.

And they may be again as the 40 year figure quoted by the council today (Thursday, 25 March) may be over-egging the shelf-life of the top coating.

Anna Eastgate, who was drafted in as an expert to get the widening project back on track, responded to a specific question from Cllr Gary Collins who, last November, asked her how long the Tarmac on the project would last.

Cllr Collins said: "I'm just looking beyond the time when we finally complete this and having seen the levels of Tarmac being laid, how long is the road surface likely to last on current usage - before we do this all over again?

Ms Eastgate replied: "That's a technical question and I may have to come back to you but my understanding, from memory, is that the surface should be lasting for five years. That's a figure that's been quoted to me."

She agreed to check the figures and Nub News has been able to find the answer.

In a subsequent message not reported publicly, nor included in the committee minutes, she said: "There will be a maintenance programme for the A13 once handover is complete and the defects period for the road has also passed.

"Under ordinary conditions, the road surface should last 15 years and the pavement layer (sub surface) should last for 40 years."

Nub News editor Neil Speight said it's a little disconcerting that those later figures quoted have been buried out of the public domain and that Ms Eastgate's version of events differs somewhat from what the council has said today, but they are in public now and it will be interesting to see which figure; five, 15 or 40 proves to be correct – though sadly I certainly don't expect to be around to celebrate the new road's 40th birthday! I think I will be well under my own top coating by then!

"As a special treat if anyone's not been on the new road yet, have a look at the film attached to this story. It's two minutes and 44 seconds of your life you may not get back again, but it shows what's been going on if you haven't been down the road recently."