Major route between Shropshire and Mid Wales to close for 10 weeks

The closure of the A490 will hit businesses hard and put jobs at risk, it has been claimed.

Shropshire Council is to start resurfacing work on the road, south of Chirbury towards Churchstoke across the border, from September 12.

But with full closure between 9am and 3pm for two and half months, the scale of the work has taken many by surprise.

Heather Kidd, Shropshire councillor for Chirbury and Worthen, said she had been "fire-fighting" since letters dropped through the doors of businesses yesterday, as they had not been consulted on the closure.

She said: "I think it is essential work that has to be done, but the point is that nobody can quite understand why the whole carriageway has to shut for so long.

"A lot of local traffic will find its way around, but you're not going to get big lorries and farm traffic around those small country roads."

Barbara Morris at Chirbury Post Office and Stores, said: "There's no way I can keep going if they close the road for 10 weeks.

"It's a little village, there are not enough people here to keep the shop going on their own. Things are tight as it is.

"I've got three members of staff and they'll all have to go because there is no way I can keep them on."

She said since finding out yesterday she had asked everyone who came into the shop where they had come from and kept a tally.

"Eighty per cent of them are travelling on that road and stopping off. That's my business," she said.

"I'll have to open from 7am to 11am on my own, close for lunch and re-open at 3pm when the road opens again.

"It will finish the business off," she said.

Councillor Kidd added: "It is a concern because the village shop is a good post office that people come to use and a lot of passing traffic stops there for lunch or a drink."

A signed diversion is planned to be in place from 9am to 3pm, and outside of those hours a "stop and go" system will manage traffic along the road.

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transport, said residents and businesses along the closed stretch will still have access, as will pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, emergency service vehicles and bin lorries.

He said: "We appreciate that this work will cause some disruption to local residents and businesses located along this stretch of the A490.

"However, we hope that they will bear with us while this important work is carried out as it will lead to significant improvements for residents, businesses and road users."

Information about the work, including diversion routes, can be found at shropshire.gov.uk/roadworks