Lorries stopped from using rat-run to avoid roadworks
A temporary weight limit has been brought in for a bridge on a country lane after two lorries got stuck avoiding roadworks.
The closure of the Maesbury Road junction on to the A483 on the edge of Oswestry has led to a number of drivers using the nearby Weston Lane as an alternative route.
Residents have complained of unsuitable and speeding traffic using not only the lane but other local roads.
One woman walking her dog told the local councillor she was forced to press herself into a hedge when two cars tried to pass each other on the narrow lane.
Improvement works on the A483 junction with Maesbury Road are being carried out by contractors working for Highways England.
The work to install 'smart' traffic lights at the current staggered junction is likely to last until early June.
Shropshire Councillor, Joyce Barrow, said that following numerous complaints in the first week the council's highways team investigated and liaised with the contractor to look at solutions.
She said two lorries had become stuck on the bridge.
Councillor Barrow said: "Due to the potential safety risk these solutions include a temporary weight limit being imposed on Weston Lane on an urgent basis, which will be signed appropriately and monitored for the remainder of the works.
"On other routes, such as the road through Morda, extra safety signing is being erected and the advice to heavy goods vehicles is to follow the signed diversions in place to avoid problems.
"Shropshire Council staff will continue to liaise and advise on any current or ongoing issues with this work."
Councillor Barrow said that as the representative for the area, and someone who had campaigned for changes to be made to the junction for many years, she welcomed the improvement work.
But she said that it was important that the local community's worries were addressed swiftly.
She said: "Safety has to be a priority for everyone concerned, and clearly heavy goods vehicles on country lanes are not acceptable, neither is dangerous traffic flow, particularly near schools and nurseries."
The A483 Maesbury Road junction has been the site of several serious accidents over the past year.
Highways England said the smart traffic lights will work on the flow of vehicles and will not lead to unnecessary hold-ups on the main trunk road from north to south Wales.
Councillor Joyce Barrow
councillor for St. Oswald
