Fortnight of A41 misery ends
Monday 30th November 2009, 11:35AM GMT.
A fortnight of misery for residents and motorists came to an end today after a stretch of one of Shropshire’s busiest roads was reopened following controversial roadworks.
Resurfacing work was completed on the A41, north of Newport, over the weekend – a week ahead of schedule. The road was re-opened overnight.
During the closure workmen were spat at and abused by drivers unhappy at the prospect of 30-mile diversions, while residents had problems getting to their homes despite having permits on their windscreens.
Telford & Wrekin Council transport bosses today said they had “learned many lessons” from the closure as they revealed repairs still needed to be carried out on side roads and lanes.
Councillor Stephen Bentley, council cabinet member for environment, said: “The council is aware that some repairs are still needed to side roads and lanes near to the A41 and this work will start immediately.
“Additionally, there will be some follow-up work to the anti-skid surfacing at some of the junctions on the A41.
“This will be done in the next month, weather permitting, in between morning and evening rush hours and will mean the installation of temporary traffic lights.”
Councillor Stephen Burrell, ward member for Edgmond, said: “The council has worked with everyone affected to do all we can to ensure that disruption has been kept to a minimum and the contractor has also been able to take advantage of favourable conditions.”
Ian Munn, who lives in Lane End Barns, near Newport, said: “Hopefully now our lives can get back to a bit of normality. Even though it was only two weeks, as residents we had all become sick to the back teeth of the whole sorry affair.”
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
10 Years we went on Holiday to South of France and a piece of Road outside Perpignan (France) was being built. 2 weeks later the stretch half a mile long was finished with 2 islands and road lighting. Suffice to say i was amazed and very impressed!
Report abuse
When we were in Teignmouth Devon they had to re-surface a long winding road on the hillside which they managed to do by means of doing one side then the other which allowed traffic to keep moving through via quick changing traffic lights.
All it needs is a bit of planning. But sticking up diversion signs is so much easier regardless of the consequences.
Report abuse
so what – 2 weeks of misery and a now lifetime ahead of driving on a lush new road surface.
Why are people in modern society so expectant and demanding and so lacking acceptance on a road being resurfaced for their benefit?
Report abuse
Nice to see that T&W transport bosses have learnt lessons from this little adventure.
Shame that they hadn’t learnt them at transport school, or wherever they all graduate from, BEFORE being let loose on real roads.
Might explain a lot about the results that they have achieved over the last few years in our area – probably taking the chance to learn lessons there as well.
Report abuse
“so what – 2 weeks of misery and a now lifetime ahead of driving on a lush new road surface.”
Dream on Matt, they will be digging it up again or have more traffic lights on it within two years.
Report abuse
Lets hope the new surface will not encourage more of the masses of overladen HGV’s that plague and destroy our roads/motorways – get goods back on the railways!
Report abuse
I note that I have been quoted in the paper to have said,
“Ian Munn, who lives in Lane End Barns, near Newport, said: “Hopefully now our lives can get back to a bit of normality. Even though it was only two weeks, as residents we had all become sick to the back teeth of the whole sorry affair.”
Only the last 10 words of this are accurate. Shame on you Shropshire Star!
I also note that no mention has been made of the fact that the closure between Tern Hill and Newport was unlawful and the Counil were stopping motorists ‘unlawfully’. I smell a rat here!
Report abuse
The problem as I see it is that there does seem to be a tendency for the authorities to TOTALLY close roads when often it is not neccessary -or indeed warranted or in the best interests of everyone.
This was PARTICLUALRY evident recently on the A442 at Norton (between Telford and Bridgnorth) when the road was CLOSED TOTALLY for 10 days) – and this was just to put a pipe under the road at Norton – which could have been done in “two halves” so the roas could ahve been kept open.
AND – I visited this site SEVERAL TIMES at Norton – and saw NO WORK being carried out “on the road! – it could easily have been opened at least to lower weight traffic?
I wrote to my MP about these A442 works,also the Works at Wenlock Edge which are STLL GOING ON !! and several ohers, – and he got a standard reply (copied to me)from the highways authority which in my opinion was just a “backside covering excercise” – basically blaming it on curent safety procedures H@Safety etc.
THE FACT IS – WE PAY to use these roads – and it is NOT GOOD enough to just close them totally for the least excuse.
If it were a normal business – would you close it to ALL your customers for days/weeks on end ?
NO – of COURSE NOT.
But it’s OK to close roads becuase those repsonsible don’t have to pay !!
It’s about time those in control woke up and took note of who is “the customer here”
And remeber the old saying ..
The customer is always right!
Report abuse
The people should know that the A41 road closure was unlawful!
My understanding is that the Council applied for a closure of the A41 between two points, Chetwynd Firs and Crosshills. Whilst I do not agree that the closure was necessary [in keeping with all the people who attended the meeting at Sambrook on 1st October], I acknowledge that the closure was ‘lawful’.
However, by the Council’s own admission, it was unlawful to :-
1.close the road to traffic, local or otherwise some miles away i.e. the junction of the A41 with the A519 [Eccleshall Rd] and Tern Hill and
2. knowing that the closure was unlawful [other than between the two points mentioned] to then engage in another unlawful activity which was to impede the passage of motorists on the Queens highway and to ask where they were going and why.
It is nothing short of disgraceful!
Report abuse
Pathetic. It’s always somebody else’s fault isn’t it? If you drive a car, you cause wear and tear, so stop whinging about have to wait in a queue once in a while. Let’s face it, you’re not so important that anybody will be bothered if you’re late.
And by the way, askeric dotcom, the customer is NOT always right; very often the customer is a self-regarding idiot with an overinflated view of his own opinion. (For proof, see this week’s story about the idiot woman from Whitchurch and her barbecue baguettes.)
Report abuse