Pavement grinding causes drifting on the new Pacific Highway between Macksville and Valla

Since June, when the diamond-blade grinding started to be carried out, some drivers have noticed their vehicle becoming harder to handle on the concrete pavement sections of the M1 between Macksville and Valla.

If you are one of the few who have thought something was a bit off – no, you’re not going crazy, and no, there’s (probably) nothing wrong with your car.

The ground-in lines have created ruts which some wheels seem to lock into, and Guardian News has heard of cases where locals have struggled to stay within their designated lane because of the effect the grinding has had.

RMS has today come back to us with verification of the phenomenon.

“Roads and Maritime Services has noted motorists’ experience of feeling their cars were veering off to the side on roads where pavement grinding had been carried out and undertook extensive testing that determined there were no negative impacts on road safety,” a spokesperson from RMS said.

Also making the news:

“Testing has also found the treatment increases skid resistance and improves water runoff from the road surface, improving safety.

“Tests will be conducted on the finished surface and Roads and Maritime will continue to monitor the performance of the grooved section of the Pacific Highway at Valla.”

So there you go.

We’d love to hear your experiences/concerns about the pavement grinding. Simply fill out the form below and we will chase them up with RMS.