Bridge closure dubbed 'fatality waiting to happen'

Residents in three villages have said diversions set up until July while a railway bridge is replaced have made the roads past their homes far more dangerous.

The A6006 was closed in October and diversions were set up to allow Kirk Hill Bridge, which runs over the railway, to be demolished and rebuilt.

But residents in Sutton Bonington, Normanton-on-Soar and Stanford-on-Soar say the diversions have led to drivers using their villages as rat runs to avoid longer journeys, which has led to a rise in traffic, accidents and crumbling roads.

Nottinghamshire County Council has said it has noticed a "temporary increase in traffic levels" and will do what it can to ensure the roads are safe.

"There are many people living around here who are now worried to go out, worried for their safety," said Rebecca Morris, 44, who lives in Sutton Bonington.

"The official diversions add on many, many miles to people's journeys, so realistically who is going to do that?

"There have been a number of crashes that we know about. People have a right to feel safe and be safe in their community, and at the moment they don't."

Morris is one of several residents who have put up handmade signs outside the village school that warn drivers not to speed.

She said: "Roads that were never designed for all of this traffic now have got lots and lots of vehicles using them.

"There are restrictions in place for HGVs, yet we're still seeing lots of HGVs.

"Potholes have now opened up all over creating an extra level of harm and risk, and something needs to be done."

The main diversion involves motorists travelling along the A6006 Rempstone Road, A60, Clifton Lane, Remembrance Way, A453, Kegworth Bypass, and the A6.

Smaller village roads that could be used as shortcuts have also been closed to try to prevent drivers cutting through the villages.

They include Hungary Lane, Landcroft Lane, Dark Lane, Brickyard Lane and Butt Lane.

Kate Broad, who has lived in Normanton-on-Soar for 27 years, said the roads through her village were like "a Formula 1 track at times".

She said: "This whole project has been an absolute fiasco, it's been very ill-thought out and the concerns are essentially road safety.

"This is very sadly a fatality waiting to happen."

Helen Taylor, 65, also of Normanton on Soar, said she was now wary about going out on her bicycle.

"I've cycled since I was a child and since this road closure I've found that I'm fearful to actually go outside the house on my bike," she said.

"I usually go grocery shopping in Loughborough and I'm resisting going that route through Stanford-on-Soar now because the road has actually fallen away at the edges and I'm having to go into the middle of the road and really causing myself a lot of risk."

She added: "I feel like it's an accident waiting to happen and I just don't want to be that person who ends up in hospital due to this diversion."

Dawn Whitmore-Kirby, 62, who runs a farm and riding stables in Stanford Road, just outside Stanford on Soar, said: "We find that we have become a rat run, unfortunately this road is a 60mph road but it is actually a country lane and we find people drive far too fast and the road actually isn't wide enough to take the traffic.

"The road is in desperate need of resurfacing, there are potholes everywhere."

A spokesperson from Nottinghamshire County Council said: "We have seen a temporary increase in traffic levels during recent months, due to the ongoing closure of the A6006 for Network Rail's Kirk Hill Railway Bridge replacement.

"We are aware the condition of the road surface has deteriorated and our inspectors are regularly visiting the roads to ensure that any safety defects are repaired.

"We were also made aware of damage caused to a number of vehicles earlier in January. This was due to a water leak in Severn Trent Water's system which caused significant damage the road surface and has now been repaired.

"In particular Leake Lane is on our list to consider for more substantial surface improvements in the future and until then we will continue to keep it safe for road users."

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We have been working closely with council highways teams to ensure we plan our work to cause minimum disruption to residents.

"Before the work started, we set up regular meetings with the MP, council, council highways contractors and parish councillors. Feedback from these meetings and public engagement events was listened to, with changes made to the closures plan.

"We have also set up a webpage where we share updates on the project."

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