Row rumbles on over old tunnel
THE ROW over Queensbury Tunnel has taken a fresh twist after flood water poured into the structure, bringing operations to a standstill.
The Queensbury Tunnel Society believes the structure should be restored for public use as part of a greenway connecting the two districts. Highways England, who manage the tunnel for the Department for Transport, is seeking planning permission to abandon it due to safety concerns.
The Society say that Highways England twice failed to pay the £50 annual rent for the land on which a pumping station was sited, resulting in around 8.2 million gallons of floodwater collecting in the tunnel. They say contractor AMCO-Giffen had removed about 80 per cent of floodwater before the area was hit by heavy rain.
Norah McWilliam, leader of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said: “The landowner has proposed a solution which meets the needs of all those with a vested interest in Queensbury Tunnel, including the taxpayer, the Department for Transport, Highways England and future generations. It’s about time they engaged in meaningful dialogue to stabilise a situation that’s clearly out of effective control.”
In a statement, Highways England said: “Contractors have scaled down activity because the southern section flooded in late September due to water that was deliberately diverted not by us.
“This deliberate diversion of water into the tunnel will take an estimated further five weeks to clear the tunnel back to the position it was in on 27 September.”
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