Move aside Ansel Adams! There’s a new type of landscape photography that’s sweeping the country of Wales. Well, I suppose it is landscape photography — aren’t potholes part of the landscape? Yes, indeed – the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee of Wales’ National Assembly (say that three times fast) has announced a pothole photo competition.
The Chair of the Committee, Russel George AM, said in an announcement, “Potholes and poorly maintained roads are a frustration for all of us. As well as making your journey uncomfortable they can seriously damage the Welsh economy and society as a whole.”
Sounds like they take their potholes very seriously there. And no wonder — according to an article in March in WalesOnline, “It will take 24 years and more than half a billion pounds to get Wales’ roads up to scratch as the number of potholes being repaired falls.”
Half a billion pounds converts to something like $664 million That’s serious money — but not a crazy amount in and of itself. The state of Iowa, which has a population size almost the same as Wales, was to spend $700 million in 2015 for construction and interstate highway projects. The difference is that that Iowa was spending that in one year — according to the article, it would take 24 years to make the necessary repairs in Wales.
The same article notes that the Asphalt Industry Alliance (no doubt an unbiased and disinterested observer) expressed concern about the issue. In their Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey (or, ALARM Survey, for short), they noted that Welsh roads are repaved, on average, once every 71 years, while “the recommended frequency of road resurfacing is between 10 and 20 years.” That sounds pretty reasonable, actually.
So, how to enter the contest? Send your photos depicting “the State of the Roads in Wales” to seneddoutreach@assembly.wales, with the date and location, you name, and your phone number. You might win!
But don’t get too excited — you won’t win much. The best photos, as judged by the Assembly Members of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, will be put on exhibition. All the runners up and the winner will receive a print of their photo, and the winner will get his or her photo on the cover of the report together with an invite to the Committee’s report launch.
Get going all you Welsh readers! You have until 12 noon on Friday, July 13th to submit your winning image. But, if I’m reading this correctly, you have competition: The National Assembly itself seems to have made an entry:
“pictures of potholes, vistas of valley passes or snapshots of urban streets, we want to consider them as part of our inquiry” @russ_george https://t.co/x45Mi5b9aY pic.twitter.com/7WYHDZeRVY
— Assembly Wales (@AssemblyWales) June 15, 2018
