Harley Bank rock face 'now secure'

A rock face above a Shropshire road which collapsed and caused havoc for drivers has finally been secured, council chiefs said today.

Drivers on the main Bridgnorth to Shrewsbury Road on the A458 have seen constant disruption since 100 tonnes of rock slid onto the road at Harley Bank during three landslips.

In July 2008 Shropshire County Council carried out a £300,000 improvement scheme to remove 16,000 tonnes of rock at Harley Bank.

But their efforts failed and there were two more landslides at the site within a week of each other in February last year.

The collapse blocked the Shrewsbury-bound carriageway and left the opposite side of the road strewn with debris, forcing police to seal off the road to the public once again.

Council engineers were then drafted in to carry out a detailed survey of the area which concluded the rockfalls had not been caused by the improvement work.

But bosses at Shropshire Council today said the most recent maintenance works carried out at Harley Bank should prevent any future traffic disruption.

Brian Bennett, Shropshire Council's highways manager, said: "We carried out work to stabilise the rock face in November 2009. This has, to date, proved to be a success.

"The work involved installing vertical dowel rods through the layers of rock to pin them together to prevent further slips.

"It also included fixing tension and drape netting to the rock faces to control minor rock falls.

"This work should now put an end to the major disruption and inconvenience for motorists using the A458 and local residents and businesses in the area."

Sally McGilp, who works in Wenlock Books, is pleased to see the disruptions come to an end, she said: "The council seem to have made a much better job of it this time, traffic is terrible when the rock face has fallen down, hopefully this time it will stay up."

By Peter Finch