Manor Road Resurfacing

Manor Road suffered badly from the snow and frost earlier this year, and a fortnight ago the village of Caddington were notified that there would be road closures to carry out major resurfacing work. From my point of view I saw this as a minor inconvenience and a great opportunity to take a series of photographs as the work was under way.

And so it proved. Naturally I could not cover the entire operation, but I have tried to capture enough of the mechanics of what went on to tell a story of the men and machines involved. I found them an interesting crowd, and during the course of conversation learnt of one man who even had his sons working alongside, so some of these shots represent pictures in his family album!

I sought the men's approval for the shots I took, and was accepted willingly, which made my task of creating an accurate report of the proceedings that much more easy, and enjoyable. The one operation I have been unable to capture so far is the initial 'planing' – the removal of the original top surface.

I am hoping that I may be able to take shots of that procedure tomorrow, my last free moment. Also, one of the men has promised he will let me know when they next carry out that operation at night, so I can get some more dramatic shots. That was an act of generosity that showed an understanding of what I was looking for, and showed that they appreciated what I was doing, for which I am grateful.