Three-week closure for resurfacing of Shrewsbury's 'worst road' set to start
One of the major roads leading into Shrewsbury will be closed for more than two weeks from tomorrow when resurfacing work gets under way.
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The A458 Welshpool Road is to be shut from Monday until Tuesday, November 1 between the A5 at the Churncote roundabout and the Clayton Way roundabout.
Work on the road, dubbed "the worst in town" by a local councillor, will be carried out in two phases.
Phase one will see work from the Clayton Way roundabout to Little Oxon Lane, with access maintained to Shelton Gardens, Leighton Park and Racecourse Lane. Phase two will see a 'switch-over at Little Oxon Lane junction to the A5 roundabout'.
Welshpool Road will be closed with a signed diversion in place along the B4386 Mytton Oak Road, but Shropshire Council has said that 'depending on vehicle type' drivers may be able to use an alternative route.
Access to Shepherds Lane and Calcott Lane will be maintained from Holyhead Road. However, residents wishing for access to Bligny Crescent are asked to approach gatemen and it will be provided.
The council has also said that access to properties and businesses within the closure 'will be maintained when safe to do so', and that access to the Oxon park and ride service will also be 'maintained at all times', and 'where practicable to do so' buses and emergency vehicles will be allowed through.
Local residents and councillors have been calling for the road to be resurfaced for months, claiming the surface has been made worse by heavy machinery from nearby housing developments.
Reacting to the announcement last month, Bowbrook councillor Alex Wagner said: "Welshpool Road is the worst road in town at the moment, and I'm glad the saga over getting it repaired is coming to an end."
Speaking last year, the councillor said "so many residents" had raised it with him, with several locals blaming the faded road markings and potholes for a number of collisions and near misses at the Gains Park Way and Calcott Lane junctions.
One, Lesley Seaton, said: "The road is in a shocking state, made worse by the constant building developments on Welshpool Road and now a new one on Gains Park Way.
"The traffic volume is astronomical and it can take half an hour to get onto Welshpool Road from Gains Park Way. My wheels and tyres are getting damaged and I'm seeing more accidents on there."
