No justification for road closure taking so long
AS A professional (Chartered) Civil Engineer with some 40 years’ experience, I decided to investigate why the road closure between Woodhouse Eaves and Swithland which started on 16th September and which was scheduled to take six weeks, had still not been completed some 10 weeks later.
I discovered what appeared to be a simple insitu concrete box culvert carrying a small stream across the road.
Using my experience gained in constructing hydro-electric dams, tunnels, power stations, water and sewage treatment works, I estimate that the work could have been completed in considerably less than six weeks and certainly less than the present likely 12 weeks.
I understand there were some difficulties; the presence of a gas main so perhaps add three days; flooding say twice with two days to clear up each time so add perhaps four days.
I also heard that they had been prevented from concreting due to cold weather. Admittedly concreting is best not carried out when temperatures are below zero without taking precautions but we have only had a few minor ground frosts in the past weeks so this is a lame excuse.
So, I do not believe that there is any justification for this work taking almost 12 weeks.
I am sure that the council responsible will come up with lots of excuses but they will be just that excuses.
In private business, we didn’t have the luxury of excuses, we had to get the work done on time and to budget – whilst always ensuring safety first.
One should bear in mind that local residents and businesses have been put to considerable difficulty and expense, businesses especially the local pubs have suffered from considerable losses.
The businesses concerned were never warned about the road closure and were not notified when the works went into delay.
This is the second road closure across this road in the last few years and no one seems to have considered keeping the road open during construction. This would have taken longer and cost more but if costings had taken account of the considerable financial cost to residents and local businesses, then this would have been the correct action to have been taken.