The State of the Roads in Leighton Buzzard

Steam engine belonging to Joseph Arnold, sand merchant c.1915 [Z1432/2]

Friday 30th March 1917: At last night’s meeting of the Leighton Buzzard Urban District Council the District Surveyor reported that state of the roads in the town has become a major concern. A combination of frosts and rain over the past month and heavy traffic from the sand industry has caused a considerable amount of damage. Repairs have been carried out where possible, but there are difficulties in obtaining sufficient materials. Part of Billington Road has been resurfaced, and in Lake Street “Rocmac” bound granite has been put down from Dudley Street towards the bridge. Further repairs have been made to Heath Road, North Street, and Church Street.  Traffic in Leighton Buzzard is now of a kind that the roads were never built to withstand. Surfaces have been worn away to the point where the foundations are now being eroded. The estimated cost of necessary repairs to roads and paths in the town during the year from 1917 to 1918 has been calculated at £1,948. Even this will only put the roads into an adequate condition, by patching them where possible and resurfacing only where this is essential.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 3rd April 1917