Forum Topic

SSED/Murphy have South Ealing Road/Popes Lane Junction dug up and Windimill Road

SSED and Murphy have the junction between South Ealing Road and Popes Lane-Little Ealing Lane dug up as well as part of Windmill Road. Avoid.

Dave Guintoli ● 3951d92 Comments

Tailbacks the length of Northfield Avenue today as the temporary lights by The Plough are stuck on red. I can't believe the amount of disruption this work has caused since it began way back in August 2014. How is it being allowed to continue in this shambolic fashion?

Jim McCauley ● 3718d

Yep temp lights on both Little Ealing lane and Popes lane - I thought this fiasco had finished?

Jim McCauley ● 3725d

It is with regret, that, I must report to the Forum that Scottish and Southern and Murphy are back on Little Ealing Lane with temporary traffic lights and with more holes for cable pulling and cable jointing work. Traffic delays.

Waldermar Krakowski ● 3725d

Dear Mr Maltus,Could you please provide me a more specific location such as house numbers. Photos would be useful too. Many thanks,Joanna

Joanna Dabrowska ● 3801d

I have received the following response from an LBE Highways officer on a few matters about the works:LBE HIGHWAYS:To give you an update on the completion of the works, I have been getting mixed messages over the past few weeks but the latest information I have is that the cable pull for the ducts in the eastbound carriageway will follow on directly after the currently underway westbound pull. The second cable pulling and jointing exercise will happen in the opposite direction, i.e. starting in Elderberry Road, pulling in to Popes Lane, then to Little Ealing Lane and on to Blondin Park. The upshot of all that is, I think we can expect that the cable installation and reinstatement of all the joint bays will be completed within the next 8 weeks. That will then leave just the resurfacing of Popes Lane which will most likely be carried out early in the new year. If anything changes programme wise or I get a more precise finish date, I will let you know.MY THOUGHTS:It seems that the officer is indicating an end of year completion means that the works affecting Ealing Common ward which were promised by SSE to be done by Feb 2015 are now going to be completed (we hope) by end of Dec 2015 representing a c.140% delay in their project management timings.

Joanna Dabrowska ● 3817d

The question that I would like to have Alistair Phillips-Davies, CEO of SSE answer is: "Would you be prepared to conceive, raise and have a family educationed with not one but 12 of these cables one metre underground outside my house without electromagentic (EM) shielding) and/or with iron/steel utility and service pipes such as gas and waterrunning running into my house which run adjacent and cross these 12 HV lines?"I put it as a challenge to Ealing councillors and executives, Hounslow councillors and executives, and resposible citizens to have this question asked by Alistir. If he cannot answer that, ask him if he would be prepared to spend eight hours a night sleeping above this cabling?

Peter Burgess ● 3817d

Here's a picture of the cable in use that I managed to snap before the "cover up" with the tents. It shows an aluminium strand core, no armouring/electromagnetic (EM) shielding and minimal copper in screening.

Peter Burgess ● 3818d

Here's a picture of the cable in use that I managed to snap before the "cover up" with the tents. It shows an aluminium strand core, no armouring/electromagnetic (EM) shielding and minimal copper in screening.

Peter Burgess ● 3818d

I recall some leafleting not long ago by SSE throughout Ealing. I got a nice piece of artwork through my letter box about how wonderful SSE is, the services it provides, and why I should cahnge to it as my energy provider. A quick search of Ealing Today showed an unresponsive company unable to take responsibility at board level for its mistakes, etc. etc.Not everyone is taken in by expensive glossy leaflets then this mess is happening on your own doorstep. What a lot of its customers and shareholders money it has spent on a wasted marketing leafleting campaign in Ealing.

Sasha Sternfield ● 3818d

Okay. So, having lied to the loca councillors (viz. Ms Davrowska), disemminated fiction to the local press Acton/Ealing Gazette, stalked some of the local residents, and blocked the main roads in South Ealing by digging them up not once, but twice, also parking dangerously and knowcking of early on Friday afternoons, what does the crack organisation that is Alistair Phillips-Davies do? It puts up a giant tent (the cost of which will do doubt be reflected in the cost to the public purse and customers) over the excavation on Little Ealing Lane this weekend. Not for SSE Murphy is responsiveness and customer retention or even danage control, its: let's cover it up so that the drones can't take any photos of the corners that we are cutting!. Excellent PR. Not to mention the "two fingers" factor to the residents of South Ealing - instead off: "we understand that we haven't done as well as we should have but we are going to fix it" that would have seen SSE deploying teams of engineers to sort the mess out and unblock Popes Lane and Little Ealing Lane, what does Alistair Phillips-Davies do: a giant, expensive, temt to cover it all up and make sure that Ealing knows that it is in no huury to fix it. Just cover it: "we don't care about the residents".The tent:

Peter Burgess ● 3818d

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)(A quick search using Google and the words EalingToday and the business I am interested in using reveals all!)

Sasha Sternfield ● 3818d

Phil,I have thousands of photos and videos. Thankfully the police agree with me that photography on a public street is not illegal whatever SSE and Murphy may think. I keep hoping that SSE will do the honourable thing before I have to put on an exhibtion at the art gallery of Walpole Park. EM ferromagnetically shielded Prysmiam cahle for this project would help a great deal as well as sorting the  surface water drains out.

Peter Burgess ● 3819d

No. I am believe that this is the best country in the world where honour and the gentlemen's handshake are still the way. I wish, however, that Murphy would stop sending gentlemen of self-professed Irish extration to try and debate electromagnetic theory with me in bars, cafes, and wine bars in Ealing. I am not an expert in electromagentics and in England the appropriate way of doing business is to listen to the feedback, correct the mistakes, and grow as a business, not to try and identify the messanger and then 'off then.P.s. Avoid bars in South Ealing.

Peter Burgess ● 3819d

Peter, I must admire your tenacity and technical insight.  But how did you you get away with taking those photos without getting lynched? Did you have a drone?

Philip Coe ● 3819d

A letter to Alistair Phillips-Davies, CEO of SSE.I shall keep the Forum appraised of any response, though I am not expecting one.Alistair Phillips-Davies (alistair.phillips-davies@sse.com) Dear Mr Phillips-Davies,As a resident of Ealing I am writing to ask you to do a number of things which I believe will be to benefit to your company in the medium-to-long terms and which I think are essential if you wish to maintain any credibility in London.1) I would like you to make sure that the Murphy driver who parked the can on the white ziig-zag lines on Popes Lane is sacked. And his/her manager.2) That you ensure the sacking of the entire department of PR people responsible for the pack of lies that appeared in the Acton (Ealing Gazette) some months previous. PR is not about lies/3) That you sack Murphy as your contractor in the UK based on the appalling mess that it has created in Ealing.4) That you stop the cabling immediately in the Osterley and South Ealing project with a view to properly surveying what has happened and to change the type of cable used. As you are probably aware stranded aluminium is the cheapest crap that you can use in HV infrastructure, solid aluminium is better, and stranded copper is best. Please could we have Prysmiam stranded copped: what you are putting in now will probably not last as long as the existing ancient oil-insulated copper conductors that you are replacing. The unbranded (probably Chinese) junction boxes and cables that you are using (some from Raychem) are worthy of the American market, though a far cry from what Ealing deserves. Whatever cable you use should be armoured and shielded or have steel electromagnetic shielding as is the case in Italy and other countries. Just think how much you will have to pay out in a few years times when European standards such as those used in Italy and Germany become applicable and you get a load of class-action lawsuits from Popes Lanes residents who are fed up of getting electric shocks of their gas meters and whose children are encountering higher-than normal rated of leukaemia and other cancers.5) You review how you have handled services such as surface water drainage (which may involve digging up all the surface water drains along the project) before you get hit with hundreds of photos and a few sets of “best-practice” guidelines that you project managers and contractors seem unable to understand.Consider this a “heads-up” from the residents of Ealing,Best regards,Yours sincerely,Peter BurgessEaling Resident

Peter Burgess ● 3819d

And to conclude this photo-essay here is a picture of piece of electrical equipment dumped in the open in the middle of the site with its protective waterproof covered partially ripped off.

Peter Burgess ● 3820d

One can but wonder as to the quality of the person that would leave a van parked on the white zig-zag approach to a crossing? The white zig-zags are there to stop people being injured not as a personal parking space for Murphy.

Peter Burgess ● 3820d

Here is a picture of a good twenty metres of wasted  expensive cable pouring out of the end of the junction bay and down the road indicating that Murphy is either a) not measuring where the junction bays should be properly and guessing where to put them or b) is putting the junction bays where it is convenient for it to do so for itself in terms of digging the hole rather than to get best economy out of the cable and locating the junction box at the end of the cable.

Peter Burgess ● 3820d

Typical to all the cables evident at both the Little Ealing Lane and the Popes Lane junction bay holes the first three to four metres of cable seems to be missing. The cable is numbered by the metre. This picture is better than the previous one in that it clearly shows the end of the cable and the first graduated mark at four metres (left hand side of picture.Why are all the cables short three to four metres?

Peter Burgess ● 3820d

Okay, where have the first three metres of this cable gone? The four metre mark is to the left of the image on the cable if you zoom in.Every single front cable end is like this, the first three or four meters missing.

Peter Burgess ● 3820d

Yep, the Ealng Today Forum really does work! The backhoe is off the pavement on Popes Lane from where it was last night, however, a Murphy van GN57 URH is parked on the white-zi-zag approach lines to the pelican crossing (this is still a prosecutable criminal offence and not a road traffic offence) however over than that the site is dead at 3.00pm. Dumped junction boxes with wind-ripped packaging are dumped at one side of the compound. Each of six cables extends several meters out of the junction hole and none starts at less than four metres (some at five from the beginning of where it should). That is six time three or at least eighteen metres of cable paid-for but not deliverrd. Say 120 lengths of the cable in this public project so we are looking at at least 360m of missing cable if this runs to course. The hole at Little Ealing Lane shows similar deficiences in the cable lengths judging by the metre markings on the cables. On top of that the tails coming out of the hole are around six to ten metres long so thats another 40 to 50 metres of wasted cable owning to sub-optimal placement of junction bays (why?). This could lead to say 120 by six or 720 metres of wasted cable. So its not going to happen with every junctio hole (as this had now been noted and SSE Murphy will have to accurately measure the internal distances in the duct runs. So lets halve that to 350 metres wasted and 320 not delivered and we are looking at 670 meteres of incredibly expensive cable wasted or not delivered. Is this a criminal situation as it is a public project?Let us hope that common sense will prevail and the backhoe on Popes Lane will stay on the road tonight and not on the new pavement.Meanwhile, to avoid further waste of public money could someone measure the ducts and place the junction bays where the cable ends and not waste hundreds of metres of cable?On further inspection in daylight the core of this cable is aluminium, though stranded (made up of multiple smaller strands of metal about 0.5cm in diameter). the screening is copper and very lightweight so there is plenty of apportunity for large magnetic fields to permeate its: I have been unable to spot any steel armouring or shielding which would block magentic (EM) radiating from the cable as copper does not stop magnetic fields so anyone with a metal gaspipe coming into their house (or school) could be in for a very interesting and toxic time with currents induced in the steel and iron gas, water and other mains.I have been unable to identify exact composition of the cable, however, I am hopeful that further research will reveal its nature and characteristics and what we can expect when it is switched on.

Peter Burgess ● 3820d

Thank you for that comment Ms Dabrowska. I can but wonder what sort of coporate backhanders and deals are in play that a clealry incompetent contractor and projec tmanager such as Murphy remains active on this project. It should have been sacked a long time ago. Cannot Ealing Council ban  both SSE and Murphy from the borough?I am genuinely intrigued as to why the expensive cables being deployed at the moment all seem to start a few metres up the numbered one to five hundred metres? Where have the first few metres gone?This is after all a public infrastructure project and we will all end up up paying for it (for several years to come as fixes continue), is there not a case for criminal action and a criminal complaint from the cost overuns alone?Another interesting question is why the backhoe used at the Popes Lane cabling pulling hole is standing (along with other plant)on a brand new pavement put down a couple of weeks ago?What happened to common sense?

Peter Burgess ● 3820d

Dear All,Some of you know that I have been working on this nuisance of the SSE works, who originally told me they will be finished by the February half term (meeting last July 2015).Since then they have failed with providing me with a full and acceptable written response to their delays. They've been paying lip service to the residents of Ealing and those just over the border in Hounslow.I have received so many emails from residents angered due to the works and I am following this thread. I know their Community (!) PR chap is also reading this and previous threads. Whilst I accept some of the works are necessary they should be efficiently (lean/Six Sigma) carried out with minimal disruption to road users and residents.I have been keeping the SSE CEx updated with the problems that I am aware of and the poor project management of these works.However, for the CEx to have it from the horse's mouth, I urge you all to write to Alistair Phillips-Davies (alistair.phillips-davies@sse.com) with your comments (good and bad).Gosh, this reminds me of the Amey waste and recycling contract fiasco.JoannaCllr Joanna DabrowskaConservative Councillor for Ealing Common

Joanna Dabrowska ● 3820d

A superficial appraisal of the cables being pulled by SSE anf Murphy on the Popes Lanes results in the following comments:1) The cable core is solid aluminium. This makes it a tier two product in the wiring industry. Copper would have been a better, safer, and more durables choice. However, cost wins out. Cheap is cheap. Ih this country we have resisted the use of aluminium-cored wires for domestic wiring for decades prefering copper, due to the nature of the higher rate of electrical fires with aluminium. Aluminium is more subject to stress and breakage especially with thermal expansion and contraction of the cable.2) SSE is being slightly shortchanged as the cable lengths though marked and numbered in metres seem to start at three or so metres with a couple of metres missing of the mesaured end which leads one to wonder if the first few metre of ecah reel have already been lopped off by some opportunistic entrepreneur and sold down the scrap merchants or one of the local ;ubs nearby.3) The junction boxes appear to be of thin painted pressed sheet steel and the coating of the boxes is not epoxy or enamel with a limited underground life span. The paint appears to be instead of a galvanised zinc coating.4) Some screening is present in the near the surface of the cable, however, is in minimal and it will be interesting to see how much of the electric field this will screen the surrounding schools, shops and schools from.5) The cable being deployed in this high-voltage infrastructure projecg bears no onvious makers markings, serial numbers, or product codes or products names making me think that it is a low-cost product from somewhere like China, et al., as any kosher European manufacturer would have their name stencilled all over it: marketing!.All in all, not a very auspicious experiece so far. On top of that the extra "bodge holes" that SSE Murphy are having to dig in places like Windmill Road to help ease the cable through its pulling indicate that the ducts that have not been optimally installed to allow trouble-free pulling.Watch this space!

Peter Burgess ● 3820d

Yep, there's another hole on Popes Lane. Though I do not think that the council is punishing us. This is more like SSE and Murphy sticking two fingers up at the council and the local residents. I guess our old friend Mahfouz the councillot responsible for roads etc., is too busy polishing the tens of thousands of pounds worth of giant stainless steel planters with their palms that have just been deployed in the new "boulevarde feel" (read: "slower traffic than ever") Uxbridge Road running through Southall to worry about such things as incompetance by private contractors on Popes Lane and Little Ealing Lane. No doubt he'll make sure a couple more disabled centres get closed before he reads the council briefing documents on the SSE Murphy debacle.

Peter Burgess ● 3823d

On Saturday just gone anyone wishing to travel between Northfield Avenue and Gunnersbury park had no fewer than three sets of temporary traffic lights to negotiate. Have we residents done something wrong that the council feels we should be punished for?

Jim McCauley ● 3823d

As though on cue withing a hour or two of posting the lack of activity in the Little Ealing Lane big hole some sort of cable pulling gear arrived - perhaps SSE management and PR are still monitoring Ealing Today and noted this.However, it is going to get worse. The big hole seems to be part of the cable pulling and there will need to be another one between the Little Ealing Hole and and substation at Elderberry Road on Popes Lane. The reason for this is that the cable that they are going to pull comes in 500 metre rolls and the distance between the Little Ealing Lane hole and the substation on Elderberry Road is 1100 to 1200 metres. This means that there will need to be three lengths of cable requiring a further TWO holes between Little Ealing Lane and Elderberry Road along the Popes Lane on that side of the road alone. As the same process will need to be repeated on the other side of the road this would mean a matching hole on the other side of the road on Little Ealing Lane tot he existing one as there is a second set of ducts there. This means five more holes of this size between Little Ealing Lane and Elderberry Road - two more on the south side and three on the north side. It would be nice to be proved wrong by SSE, however, we appear to be in for some more months of hell. Expect a matching hole on Popes Lane somewhere near Travis Perkins sometime soon.What is even worse is that each of this holes will be dug in the same place as the previouos excavations diggind down to the installed ducts - something that could have been done when the ducts were put in instead or re-digging.

Peter Burgess ● 3828d

Who is doing the digging here? I didn't think that SSE and Murphy plans involved Northfield Avenue?

Peter Burgess ● 3828d

They've now also got Northfield avenue dug up near the junction with Altenburg Avenue and temporary traffic lights in place. What a mess

Jim McCauley ● 3828d

It's literally a 13 month nightmare - I can only think of a handful of days where my commute has not been hampered by these idiots

Jim McCauley ● 3829d

Like a bad dream. Am I imagining it or is the huge hole on Little Ealing Lane in exactly the same place where SSE and Murphy dug a big hole a few weeks/months ago? Why didn't they do whatever they are doing now at that time?After a few days of no activity in the flooded hole (other than traffic jams all around it) SSE and Murphy turned up today and pumped the water out of it. Two Murphy vans and an idle pump sitting there all afternoon, no people in evidence.

Peter Burgess ● 3829d

Judging by the pace of the work (somewhere between a sloth and a Fuller's bartender) someone is getting a big backhander to turn a blind eye to the inefficiency that will induibitably be paid for by us in our electricity bills.

Peter Burgess ● 3838d

Temporary lights at the bottom of Little Ealing lane, still no end in sight for us poor sods who need to use this route to get to work

Jim McCauley ● 3838d

I see the temporary lights are back on Little Ealing Lane. Long queues of traffic again more than a year since this sorry business started.

Jim McCauley ● 3865d

What are they doing now? They dug a large pit (six metres by six metres by four metres deep) opposite the junction between Little Ealing Lane and Weymouth Avenue lined it with timber for a few days and today they filled it in WITH LARGE HARDCORE STONES all four metres deep of it. As this was filled in in one go this will of course settle a lot! Let us hope that the council is keeping an eye omn this spot as this will mean a large dip in the tarmac over time.

Peter E. Vasco ● 3885d

Thanks Joanna for the update and doing what you can.The silence from other local councillors has, as per usual, been deafening.This does appear to be poorly managed from the outset.It's funny how heaven and earth can be moved to accommodate the Mela right down to extra buses and bus scheduling arrangements but for this long term disruption, TfL seem completely unable to do anything.If they can plan for that then why not the rest?It's a real kick in the teeth to local residents and those trying to get to and from work as well as local businesses. The delays, noise and congestion for such a long time affecting people who live and work here is clearly not of any significance.It just shows how misplaced priorities are.

Mark Kehoe ● 3898d

I am writing to you just to give you a quick update on the SSE works on Little Ealing Lane. Weekend works have been taking place over the last few weeks as four way temporary traffic lights have been needed. Whilst this has prevented week day traffic from being disrupted, there has undoubtedly been an effect on the residents of Little Ealing Lane. I met with SSE today and we have agreed that, to give the residents some respite, there will be no weekend works for the next two weekends, after which we will review progress and decide where to go from there. One of the options to be considered will be to carry out the works under the four way temporary traffic lights during week days (within the school holidays), have manual control of the traffic lights and work extended hours (7am – 7pm) and try to get the works done as quickly as possible. This will have an impact on traffic but will definitely speed up the works. Current works are at Little Ealing Lane jcn Radbourne Avenue (Radbourne Avenue is closed) under two way lights. These works will continue until approximately next Thursday, after which the trenching will start at the junction of Weymouth Avenue and continue towards South Ealing Road. With it being a school holiday period, we are hoping that the trenches can get closer to South Ealing Road under two way lights than would usually be possible. This will reduce the time that four way temporary lights will be needed. Once all the duct installation has been completed on Little Ealing Lane, there will be further works to excavate two joint bays and pull cables through. The first joint bay being on Popes Lane, approximately 20 metres east of the junction of Olive Road and the second on Little Ealing Lane at the junction of Birkbeck Road. The Popes Lane work will only start on 7th September so as not to disrupt traffic during the Mela. LB Ealing will shortly be starting works to resurface parts of the footway on Popes Lane and once this is completed we can then plan the resurfacing of Popes Lane between the junction of South Ealing Road and the pedestrian crossing at Olive Road.

Joanna Dabrowska ● 3898d

Joanna, those of us who rely on public transport thank you!

Anna Leuven-Rice ● 3900d

Ms Barter,Just to update you. TfL have agreed to put up signage at the bus stop (which I hope I've interpreted the location correctly from your message) from next weekend, as the bus stop suspension is only at weekends.Joanna

Joanna Dabrowska ● 3901d

Ms. Dabrowska,I am very pleased that you have asked for photographic evidence I shall do the best that I can bearing in mind that the junction of Popes Lane/Little Ealing Lane/South Ealing Road has become a nexus for dodgy acitivity and some rather unsavoury characters hang around there 24x7 in some rather unsavoury local establishments and locals tend to avoid walking through it at all hours. These people get very aggressive if you even try to take a picture of a building there which makes one wonder who they are and why they are so afraid of being photographed? Perhaps a council camera over the Popes Lane/South Ealing Road Junction like the one a little further up the South Ealing Road would help improve the area as the other one has done.

Alice E. Barter ● 3901d

Dear Ms. DabrowskaHaving said I went out with my camera, however, the digger has backhoe has been moved even though its enclosure remains. The Murphys has been using the pavements along Little Ealing Lane regularly (with damage) to overnight backhoes and during the day its vans. If photos are what you wish I shall photograph what I see in future.The bus-stop has been retored to operational duty and the yellow "bus-stop" suspended sign has been removed.I suspect both would still be there if you (or some other Officer) had not made a call.

Alice E. Barter ● 3901d

Dear Ms. Dabrowska,Unless I am very much mistaken you stood for and were elected on the premiss that you would look after the civil infrastructure and well-being of the people in Ealing which comes with it duty of care.These are issues and situations that seem appropriate for a local councillor to resolve. TfL and the like ignore the like of me and it takes hours on an expensive 0844 number to make any sort of complaint.I give the credit that you deserve in saying that you are active memeber of the council who works hard in fulfilling her duties unlike some of the other cardboard cut-outs who are never heard from.However, this situation is firmly in the "bag" of elected councillors: local transportation, damage and obstruction of pavements. What is more is that while the work crossing the South Ealing Road is complete it is very shallow: watch.

Alice E. Barter ● 3901d

Ms Barter,Not sure why you are challenging me. Surely, you should be challenging TfL, SSE and LBE. Had I not raised the traffic lights matter with TfL, they would be none the wiser. LBE and SSE are now also aware. I am not an electrician/electrical engineer so I cannot make a judgment what the cause of the problem is. I was merely passing on my findings on my recent discussions with the relevant bodies. As for the disruption that SSE has caused since they started back in August last year, any complaints that residents have raised I have tried to mitigate through discussions with SSE and LBE. I have spent hours on this. The whole SSE cabling programme has been clouded with poor project management, lip service and unjustified delays. I am liaising with the CEx of SSE and I'm very close to putting a formal complaint to OfGEM if they don't improve their practices. As for your "challenge", I'm able to liaise with the relevant parties to deal with the matters you have highlighted tomorrow. It is not an emergency. If you have photographic evidence of the digger then please forward it to me including precise location. Regarding the bus stop signage, can you please confirm that you are referring to eastbound bus stop N. Joanna

Joanna Dabrowska ● 3901d

As im led to believe, traffic control systems are set up by a contractual company - for example Lux.These lights are run by petrol driven generators with an emergency contact number, however I have never seen anyone taking action at held lights etc.As for plant on the pavement, Ealing Council take a dim view, so as with other posts, an "agreement" will have been made

Peter Yale ● 3901d

I would not trust TfL to organise a ... iin a brewery. I know that the root cause is not the internal wiring because I spoke to one of the engineers who was replacing the process controller module. He said that it was due to the digging.Likewise TFL has made a complete ***** of a temporary E3 bus stop to replace the one on Little Ealing Lane where it joins the South Ealing Road. Having suspended the bus stop they have put up a temporary bus stop 50 yards away on the other side of the junction down Popes Lane. There is no signage or information to that effect so I walked all the way back up Northfields Avenues to catch an E3. The E3 then promptly stopped at the suspended bus stop and did not stop at the temporary one on the other side of the junnction.To add to that all there is a large backhoe/digger parked up on the (newish) pavement on the corner of the junction.So Ms. Dabrowska, we have heard lots from various worthies about this, howver, I have the following two tasks for you should you bhe willing to acccept them:1) Some signage for the suspended bus stop telling people ho want to catch the bus where the (hidden) temporary one is, and 2) to get the digger moved off the pavement tonight (I am sure if a commercial lorry was left parked there overnight it would be impounded and towed away and the owner fined for the pavement damage. We need some action.Good Luck!

Alice E. Barter ● 3902d

Thanks for that.  Clearly it must be related to the excavations as these lights have been very reliable for decades with only phasing amendments having caused a few problems.It sounds like the same problem that dogs my Fathers car that causes the horn to only work intermittently. And that's been a devil to trace and solve!!

Mark Kehoe ● 3902d

Sounds to me like an intermittent short in the wiring under the ground brought on by a disturbance through SSED digging.

Alice E. Barter ● 3902d

Mark/Alice,The traffic lights are owned/managed by TfL. I have been in touch with TfL on this precise matter. I've dug out their response of late: On follow up investigation the engineers have identified a wiring issue at site 27/037 that is believed to be a possible cause of the all out’s occurring on site.  The wiring in question is part of the soft internal wiring within the pre installed controller wiring. These have been re-terminated and rectified and the engineers will continue to monitor and reinvestigate if required. A new mains monitor is to be fitted at site 27/222 to give a better understanding of the electricity issues on site so that we may be able to find patterns for the fluctuating voltages on site. Previously on site following a mains fail, Scottish and Southern Electricity advised that they had to replace a 60Amp fuse that was feeding our equipment. This site should not draw anything close to 60Amps at any time therefore this is also a concern and could possibly be intermittent cable faults on eth electricity board side. We will continue to investigate and monitor both sites.

Joanna Dabrowska ● 3902d

Joanna, They may be sending out info but it is rather far fetched.Popes lane Junction has been dug up, filled in and re-dug up every weekend for over a month.The traffic signals have failed almost every week since during the week causing delays outside of the roadworks.The 65 bus service has been mucked about to being hugely overcrowded Brentford and Ealing bound and causing drivers to overun hours and take buses out of service and many others to terminate at Brentford.It's becoming both tedious, time consuming and costly in lost income to many  of us going about our daily occupations.Not enough has been done to minimise the upheaval by TfL , Ealing and the Contractors, especially from the knock on effects outside of the works themselves.

Mark Kehoe ● 3902d

Ms. Dabrowska,If they have completed the South Ealing Road crossover why are they putting the whole junction under temporary lights?Canb't they just hire about twenty people for a week or two and finish the digging? There only seems to be about three or people digging at a snails pace at any one time.

Alice E. Barter ● 3902d

I receive regular updates from SSE on their cabling project which started last summer. It has been delayed although I have yet to receive reasoning why this is the case. This is their latest update:Works along Little Ealing Lane between the junction of Weymouth Avenue & Windmill Road have been completed (as has the Popes Lane crossing) ·      Permits and traffic management plans are in place and have been agreed with London Borough of Ealing (LBE) for the works. ·      There are currently no bus stop suspensions or diversions in place in LBE Monday-Friday. ·      Weekend working along Little Ealing Lane from the South Ealing Road junction is ongoing under temporary traffic lights as agreed with LBE - this section is due to complete late August ·      Full width reinstatement of Popes Lane from South Ealing Road junction heading east to the Olive Road junction to be completed during September, exact dates TBC with LBE ·      Excavation of joint bays, cable installation and cable jointing activities due to commence August ·      SSEPD continue to work closely with LBE to coordinate the works to ensure minimum impact to road users and residents

Joanna Dabrowska ● 3902d

The junction is under temporary lights. Avoid. Queues of traffic. They seem to be working on Little Ealing Lane, however, the main traffic lights are switched off and all four roads are under a temporary (and slow) traffic lights.

Alice E. Barter ● 3902d

More temporary lights at the top of Little Ealing lane AND lights out at the junction with South Ealing Road this morning and yesterday. This is an absolute disgrace frankly.

Jim McCauley ● 3907d

More work is planned on this particular junction this weekend, the 18th and 19th July. Based on past experience it is probably best avoided if driving.

Alice E. Barter ● 3911d

South Ealing Road was back to normal on Monday morning and work transfered to the Northfields Avenue/Windmill Lane junction where they dug up the same corner again and then proceeded onward.

Alice E. Barter ● 3913d

Have the traffic queues cleared now or is it still busy and chaotic there?

Gerry Tan ● 3913d

Just to alert you that there are temporary traffic lights on South Ealing Road/Little Ealing Lane/Popes Lane junction todaySunday 12th July with traffic queues in all directions. The best thing to do is to avoid this area.

Alice E. Barter ● 3916d

Lights were out again yesterday evening. The combination of this and the tube strike made for some very exciting driving.

Jim McCauley ● 3918d

After a conversation with a Highway engineer,  We can expect intermittent disruptions for the next 2-3 years.Much of the road (And parkland) will, in all probability, subside with settlement from the nature of the ducting and soil. So the road may end up with unexpected undulations and dips appearing in the surface.As Little Ealing Lane and Popes Lane handle heavy vehicles and Buses it's almost certain this will occur. Even with good quality works, this is inevitable,but should be minimal.  The poor finishing in Blondin Park with a nasty stone ridden topsoil is not a good omen for the rest.What she was unable to tell me was if remedial work due to settlement have been factored in and if the road surfaces will be fully resurfaced in the next 24 months. I do hope this time a full agreement is brokered between the services and LBE as previous arrangements eg Cabling of pavements which left uneven paving after 2 years was side stepped by the constant changed of ownership of the utilities concerned. Leaving the Council to pick up the remedial bill.That said, Councils - Not just Ealing are not good at keeping tabs on works and calling in unsatisfactory repairs.  Let's hope they are on top of it this time.

Mark Kehoe ● 3922d

Huge queues southbound on Northfield Avenue this morning as the works continue - when will this end? Almost a year of disruption now

Jim McCauley ● 3922d

More inconvenience for us. I hope they finish quickly.

Gerry Tan ● 3925d

Murphy are redoing the lines on the South Ealing Road. The next big offensive on the junction of Popes Lane, South Ealing Road, and Little Ealing Lane is planned for this weekend if the signs around the junction are correct. Avoid.

Alice E. Barter ● 3925d

Murphy has had the South Ealing Road from the Popes Lane/Little Ealing Lane junction almost down to the A4 coned off and parking suspended on both sides of the road, does anyone know what they are going to do?

Alice E. Barter ● 3926d

Traffic lights out again this morning!

Jim McCauley ● 3928d

The works were gone this morning thankfully

Jim McCauley ● 3929d

Speaking about road repairs, I've noticed many more potholes in Ealing roads lately.  Anyone else observed this?

Gerry Tan ● 3930d

Without any warning Scottish and Southern Energy and its contractor Murphy has the junction of Popes Lane, South Ealing Road and Little Ealing Lane dug up again. It wuld be nice if they gave some warning that about what they were going to do perhap the day or two before? Anyway, perhaps they can fix the traffic lights while they are it. Avoid

Alice E. Barter ● 3930d

I am almost embarrassed to post that the traffic lights are again out of action at the junction of Popes Lane, Little Ealing Lane, and South Ealing Road. Best avoided unless you want to play dodgems.

Alice E. Barter ● 3933d

10 months of this shambles and counting...

Jim McCauley ● 3944d

Popes Lane is under attack again. Beech Gardens is closed off and the traffic lights are back there. One of the locals told me that the work there today has been to fix a mistake made a few months ago when they wrapped the power ducts arouns a gas pipe. There are also some new roadworks opening up on the South Ealing Road opposite the Ealing Park Tavern where they have closed off Occupation Lane with a hole. How Occupation Lane ties into this all I have no idea?

Alice E. Barter ● 3944d

Back up at midday.

Alice E. Barter ● 3945d

I came through at about 6 on my way to the Waterman's; the lights were out but most drivers were being sensible and courteous and taking turns.

Susan Kelly ● 3945d

I've alerted the LBE Director of Highways of this.

Joanna Dabrowska ● 3946d

I look forward to risking my life again on the way home

Jim McCauley ● 3946d

I spoke way way way too soon. It is four o'clock in the efternoon on Friday and the lights are off once  more.

Alice E. Barter ● 3946d

The traffic lights were repaired at around eight o'clock last night - that's Thursday. The problem with this type of fault is that it is recurrent so until the traffic lights get re-wired it will probably keep happening again. If the traffic light ducts are alright then they just be able to pull new cable though if the ducts have been crushed they will have to be dug up and relaid. Each time the lights go out the traffic mamnagement company has to install a new computer, or process controller as the short is blowing the board out. This is costing someone a lot of money as well as endangering peoples' lives.

Alice E. Barter ● 3946d

The junction made it onto the BBC London travel news this morning.

Susan Kelly ● 3947d

The Wembley Arena venue is now the Scottish Southern Electric (SSE) Arena, or SSE Arena; Murphys did a lot of work on the tunnelling and building of Crossrail under and through London: anyone willing to risk either after all this?

Alice E. Barter ● 3947d

Road repairs and maintenance are not advanced nuclear science - they are basic skills for goodness sake!  When will whoever are responsible get it right?

Gerry Tan ● 3947d

Lights were out this morning at 0815 - what is going on?

Jim McCauley ● 3947d

SSE Have completely mismanaged this program of works. They are paying lip service to residents and all road users. Ironically, just driven past it half hour ago and the traffic lights are out at the junction. The electricity company can't even ensure working lights!

Joanna Dabrowska ● 3947d

Traffic engineer does diagnostics andblown board which he replaces around mid day Wednesday. He recknows it was likely to be the traffic wiring disturbed by SSEPD and Murphy Ltd. trench digging and duct laying ar the junction on Friday and Saturday. There may be further problems as the boards pop when wires get crossed or there are intermittent shorts.

Alice E. Barter ● 3948d

Odd, I crossed the junction at 0830 and they were definately out

Jim McCauley ● 3948d

Weird as they were working at 06:50 this morning when I turned from Popes lane onto South Ealing Road.

Nigel Brooks ● 3948d

Lights still out this morning with people risking their necks in the resulting free for all.

Jim McCauley ● 3948d

These buffoons have snarled up the whole area since August last year and still it continues. Disgusting!

Jim McCauley ● 3949d

The traffic lights are completely out at the junction of Little Ealing Lane/South Ealing Road/Popes Lane. It's total chaos here PM Tuesday, what have Scottish Southern Electric Power Distribution and Murphies done now? Dodgems!

Paul Mulligan ● 3949d

As mentioned before, whole area has problems completely mismanaged.One wonders if it is deliberate as the buses have been very well reorganised and diverted which indicates that communication between TfL and it's centrecom has been well briefed.But stuff all other road users. With no advance detours in place.I take it that all these roads will be resurfaced properly at the end as well as Blondin Park properly levelled & re-turfed where the surface is now lumps of grass and stones and useless for recreational use.Is there a name and contact number for the person overseeing this?

Mark Kehoe ● 3950d

The queues southbound on Northfield Avenue are something to behold! What a mess

Jim McCauley ● 3950d