Shropshire road reopens after closure of four months

The B4373 between Bridgnorth and Broseley is now back in use after National Grid finished work on the pipe, which supplies 7,000 homes and businesses in Bridgnorth.

It has been greeted with delight by people living in the two towns, who have had to follow lengthy diversions via Much Wenlock since the road closed on July 1. Work has been taking place to repair the pipe since May.

Problems

The work had been due to finish at the end of September but was delayed due to engineering probems.

Residents in Broseley have been complaining about the inconvenience and the isolation it has caused.

Councillor Ian Pickles, mayor of Broseley, said: "We're absolutely delighted that the road is open. As a community it has caused us an enormous ammount of difficulty.

"There are families in Broseley who both work in Bridgnorth and in their normal lives would drop their children in school before going to work but because of the road closure they can't."

Councillor Pickles said that previously National Grid has said it would donate some funding to the town for the inconvenience and the council will be chasing those funds to put towards community projects.

Jean Jones, Shropshire councillor for Broseley, said: "This is good news – it will be a huge relief to our community, who have been considerably disadvantaged by this closure."

The road officially reopened on Sunday.

David Turner, Shropshire councillor for Much Wenlock, said: "Local residents living near this route will welcome the end of this major infrastructure project, and we appreciate their co-operation during this upheaval."

Though Shropshire Council was not carrying out the work, they were responsible for arranging diversion routes and traffic management.

Claire Wild, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "We appreciate this work caused a great deal of inconvenience."