Collapsed road shut ‘for months’
A BUSY road in Neath will be closed to traffic for “several months” after flooding caused part of the road to collapse, leaving a gaping hole where the surface once was.
While the footpath on Castle Drive in Cimla will be restored to pedestrian use this weekend, the road itself is likely to remain closed for months, due to the “complex and serious” nature of the collapse, Neath Port Talbot Council says.
The road collapsed after heavy rain on October 4 caused much of Neath Port Talbot and Swansea to flood – with some Neath residents forced to spend hours wading through muddy waters to help clear drains and stop floodwater invading people’s homes.
Due to the heavy rain that day, a culvert channelling water along Castle Drive became blocked, causing rain water to “overtop the road and wash away an embankment”.
This caused a landslip and led to the footpath and a large section of the carriageway collapsing.
Significant construction works are planned in order to restore the road safely – and to avoid similar problems from happening again.
Unfortunately, the complex works are time-consuming, so the road will remain closed for quite some time while the works take place.
In a statement from Neath Port Talbot Council, staff outline the extensive works that will take place.
Neath Port Talbot Council has pledged to:
■ Design a “remediation scheme” to retain and rebuild the road and to replace the damaged culverted section of watercourse underneath it – and work has already begun on this.
■ Procure contractors to carry out the specialist reconstruction work
■ Ensure utilities such as gas, water and electricity are maintained for local residents during the construction phase.
■ Ensure the remediation scheme is robust and future-proofed against extreme weather and rainfall that may come in the future.
Cllr Mike Harvey, Neath Port Talbot Council’s cabinet member for streetscene and engineering, said: “We are glad to be able to restore through pedestrian access to Castle Drive this weekend by reinstating a footpath which was affected by this collapse. While we are all working to mitigate the effects of climate change it’s clear we are already experiencing it here.
“Weather events such as the extreme rainfall on October 4 which caused flooding throughout the South West Wales region and which led to this road collapse, are becoming commonplace.
“We will endeavour to reinstate the highway in Castle Drive, restoring through traffic – a major engineering project the effects of which will be robust and long lasting - as soon as we possibly can.”
The council has confirmed that just one footpath will be reopened to allow pedestrian access. The footpath on the opposite side of the road will remain closed.