Fears for road near Bridgnorth after deep cracks appear
Deep cracks have appeared on a busy rural road – sparking fears it could collapse into a nearby brook.
The 12-inch splits have been spotted on a section of New Road in Highley, near Bridgnorth. The area's Shropshire councillor Dave Tremellen said villagers were facing a 14-mile detour to avoid the area.
He said the route was the only road into Highley from the south and added it was feared the cracks reached down to the foundations of the road. He said he believed it was only a matter of time before the road began slipping into Borle Brook below.
It has also raised fears that vital supplies such as medication may not get sent to the village due to the disruption caused by lengthy diversions. Bus services could also be affected.
It comes after work to link 60 properties in the area to a new £750,000 sewerage system – which saw roads closed for a number of weeks – finished on last Friday.
Councillor Tremellen said: "For successive years Shropshire Council has carried out only the superficial work needed to literally cover the cracks.
"Within weeks of the earlier work being done evidence of the underlying state of the road has appeared, to await further tarting up.
"This is a major road into the village. In fact, it is the only road into the village from the south suitable for regular traffic because the only other road from that direction is a single-track lane already in a greater state of decrepitude than Halfway House Lane at Eardington after its beating during the Severn Trent works at Knowle Sands.
"There is no way that the substantial works needed to restore the road to a state in line with its classification as a B-road could be done without a complete road closure of both lanes, not least because the present damage stretches across its width.
"And, of course, rebuilding one half of the road without installing proper foundations to make sure it stays where it's put is to repeat the errors of the past."
Councillor Tremellen said on top of the 14-mile detour motorist were faced with, the closure was also seeing drivers were reluctant to make deliveries to businesses in the village.
He said it was also a major disruption to buses, school buses and the emergency services.
Pharmacist Giles Evans, who has run Highley Pharmacy for eight years, said he was worried about supplies getting through it the road was eventually closed.
He said: "One of our drivers covers Bromsgrove to Highley and Leominster, and he has informed us he may need to reduce our service or pass it to another driver.
"Following the problems we had with the work in Knowle Sands it is a concern for us, especially as it is unclear what Shropshire Council is going to do."
No-one from Shropshire Council was available to comment.
Deep cracks have appeared on a busy rural road - sparking fears it could collapse into a nearby brook.
The 12-inch splits have been spotted on a section of New Road in Highley, near Bridgnorth. The area's Shropshire councillor Dave Tremellen said villagers were facing a 14-mile detour to avoid the area.
He said the route was the only road into Highley from the south and added it was feared the cracks reached down to the foundations of the road. He said he believed it was a matter of time before the road began slipping into Borle Brook below.
It has also raised fears that vital supplies such as medication may not get sent to the village due to the disruption caused by lengthy diversions. Bus services could also be affected.
It comes after work to link 60 properties in the area to a new £750,000 sewerage system - which saw roads closed for a number of weeks - finished on Friday (FEB 14).
Councillor Tremellen said: "For successive years Shropshire Council has carried out only the superficial work needed to literally cover the cracks.
"Within weeks of the earlier work being done evidence of the underlying state of the road has appeared, to await further tarting up.
"This is a major road into the village. In fact, it is the only road into the village from the south suitable for regular traffic because the only other road from that direction is a single-track lane already in a greater state of decrepitude than Halfway House Lane at Eardington after its beating during the Severn Trent works at Knowle Sands.
"There is no way that the substantial works needed to restore the road to a state in line with its classification as a B-road could be done without a complete road closure of both lanes, not least because the present damage stretches across its width.
"And, of course, rebuilding one half of the road without installing proper foundations to make sure it stays where it's put is to repeat the errors of the past."
Councillor Tremellen said on top of the 14 mile detour motorist were faced with, the closure was also seeing drivers were reluctant to make deliveries to businesses in the village.
He said it was also a major disruption to buses, school buses and the emergency services.
Pharmacist Giles Evans, who has run Highley Pharmacy for eight years, said he was worried about supplies getting through it the road was eventually closed.
He said: "One of our drivers covers Bromsgrove, to Highley and Leominster, and he has informed us he may need to reduce our service or pass it to another driver.
"Following the problems we had with the work in Knowle Sands it is a concern for us, especially as it is unclear what Shropshire Council is going to do."
No-one from Shropshire Council was available to comment.
