Lessons must be learned over roadworks says leader
The leader of Shrewsbury Town Council has said he hopes the local authority have learnt from previous 'disasters' ahead of a new phase of roadworks.
Monday will see the start of four months of roadworks in the town centre as part of the £12 million Shrewsbury Integrated Transport Package (SITP).
But Councillor Alan Mosley branded previous works under the scheme 'disastrous', and said he hopes disruption will be kept to a minimum this time.
Work will commence on Claremont Bank and Town Walls, with completion anticipated in April.
Lessons
"I just hope Shropshire Council has learnt lessons from the disaster that was the Pride Hill roadworks," Councillor Mosley said.
"The Meole Brace roundabout work, which was also part of the SITP, took far longer than expected and caused problems, and the Reabrook roundabout works went months and months over.
"Let's hope Shropshire Council and its contractors have learnt lessons and don't cause a massive inconvenience this time. It needs to be closely monitored, unlike previous disasters, and that they are held to tight deadlines and schedules."
The work will include the upgrading of footways to improve the appearance of the area, improvements to crossing and carriageway resurfacing.
Shropshire Council has said there will be a number of traffic management phases implemented and the roads will largely remain open with traffic lights and lane closures.
Worry
But leader of Shrewsbury Business Chamber, Peter Bettis, said he fears people will avoid the town because of previous bad experiences.
"I can only hope that they have learnt their lesson and try to keep traffic flowing where possible," he said.
"I just worry people will think it's not worth coming into Shrewsbury for the next four months because they are going to be stuck in traffic.
"It's a worrying time for people who trade in the town and a massive inconvenience for shoppers.
"Fingers crossed Shropshire Council proves us wrong and there is some good news to come out of this that the town hasn't suffered and trade isn't affected. We can only hope."
Next month also sees the re-start of the Pride Hill roadworks.
Telford company, McPhillips (Wellington) Ltd, will take over work on the pedestrian street on February 4.
