New works put drivers back on road to misery
ASTRETCH of road that had ‘temporary’ traffic lights for so long a staff canteen was put on site now has another set for at least a month.
Just when drivers had got used to Strines Road, near Strines, being delay free after three years, more roadworks appeared this week.
Stockport Council contractors will be rebuilding an embankment and a culvert as part of flood mitigation work, near the junction with Station Road.
The site is just yards from the border between Stockport and Cheshire East, where the latter council had road works from 2013 to 2016 while attempts were made to fix carriageway subsidence.
Over time the original road works caused frustration for motorists then became a long-running joke - being decorated with balloons and banners every 12 months for their ‘birthday’.
They finally disappeared in March, by which time there were temporary buildings to provide an office and canteen for workers.
Gavin Hough, from New Mills, who uses the route for his commute, said: “There is a definite feeling of here we go again.
“After three years it was hard to remember a time when there was no roadworks on Strines Road and in the end it was a shock when they went.
“I suppose six months of unobstructed driving was a good run for our money.
“We’re told it’s only for a month or so now, but when the last lot appeared how long were they expected to take?”
The previous roadworks fell under the control of Cheshire East Council, who said both technical and logistical issues were much more complicated than originally thought.
The site was within the few hundred metres of road between Stockport and Derbyshire classed as being in Cheshire.
On this occasion the site falls within Stockport and it is anticipated there will be traffic lights until October 14.
A Stockport Council spokesman said: “Contractors will be undertaking flood mitigation works to re-establish an embankment and a culvert. These works are scheduled to take place from September 12 to October 14.
“The first two weeks the works will require the use of temporary traffic signals from 8am to 5pm only. For the final three weeks the works will be for the culvert and these works will require temporary traffic signals at all times.”