Two incidents in the last few days serve to illustrate that much of our infrastructure is well past its use by date, offering a worrying view of what needs to be done to keep the country moving in the future. 

Most of our sewage and water pipes date from Victorian times or just after and were laid under roads that were not designed with the 32 ton truck in mind, or indeed the sheer volume of lighter traffic that clogs our roads on a daily basis.

The burst water main and sinkhole that appeared on Tuesday night on the A40 in West Wycombe is a case in point. 

The cause is yet to be definitively established, but it is more than likely that a long term leak had eroded the earth and clay under the road for some time and the weight of traffic over the unsupported tarmacadam finally broke through and ruptured the 12 inch water main that lies two metres below the surface.

And it is of no small concern that this very road is one of the access roads that will be required for access to the construction sites of HS2, a fact that was pointed out in a Humble Petition to Parliament from West Wycombe Council three years ago.

Given the weight and volume of traffic that will be involved in this controversial project over a long period, should we be prepared for more cases of collapsing highways in the area? And we already know that around 20 per cent of our water is lost via leakage.

And on Wednesday yet another massive articulated lorry attempted to cross Marlow Bridge despite the weight limit of 7 tons and the traffic restricting bollards just before the bridge.

I have seen small saloon cars creeping between those posts for fear of damaging their cars. But some lorry drivers seem less intimidated. 

They served their purpose on this occasion by bursting the tyres of the P&O Ferrymaster truck whose driver attempted to squeeze between them.

Is it perhaps time to put a height restricting metal bar across the road to prevent anything other than light vehicles from crossing Marlow Bridge, which having been constructed in 1832 was certainly not designed for 2017 heavy goods traffic.

And it is only a year since a Lithuanian driver caused £200,000 pounds damage to the structure by similarly ignoring the weight limit.