Fixing potholes to CLOSE new bridge after 7 months
Resident slam a ‘rubbish job’
Fed- up commuters face more traffic chaos this weekend when a new road over a railway bridge in Shotts will be shut to fix potholes only SEVEN months after it reopened.
Residents are furious with state of the new road at Benhar Bridge and are fuming that the road will have to close again when it is resurfaced.
Last July, the town’s Benhar Bridge reopened after it was reconstructed as part of the Shotts Line electrification project.
But now carriageway defects have been spotted on Benhar Road and the road will be shut on Friday and Saturday to carry out the new repairs.
One disgruntled resident said: “The council shouldn’t have to pay for it when the resurfacing should have been carried out properly in the first one.
“They shouldn’t have to suffer when it was a rubbish job that was done. “Network Rail should pay for the repairs.” Last week the Wishaw Press reported how businesses in the Dykehead area of the town hit out at their trade being killed because of the road closure at Station Bridge.
A bakers, a hairdressers and off-sales have shut down following the bridge closure and traders fear more could folllow.
Network Rail shut off the bridge in Station Road last September for 11 months as they continue their £5.7million project to electrify the Glasgow to Edinburgh line.
A council spokesman said: “Carriageway defects have been identified on Benhar Road in the vicinity of the recently replaced rail bridge.
“Whilst some of these defects can be repaired utilising local traffic management i.e temporary signals, the location of other defects will require a temporary road closure to allow works to be carried out.
“All these works will be carried out by Network Rail contractors and wholly at their expense.
“We are awaiting further contact from Network Rail with regards their proposals which will include discussions on carrying out the works at an appropriate time in order to minimise inconvenience to road users.” Stane Primary School opened their doors for their first ever art exhibition.
The children in P1-7 had been working hard during ‘Art Focus Fortnight’to create canvases, framed art work and video clips which were all on display during the exhibition.
Throughout the day on Friday, February 10, parents, families and friends of Stane Primary School came to visit the exhibition and were very impressed with the quality of the work on display.
Scott Clark, the school’s headteacher, said:“The art exhibition was a tremendous success because of the hard work of our wonderful pupils and staff, as well the support of the local community.
“The sale of the pupil’s art work raised £450 for school funds, which will be used to benefit all of the children.”
A Network Rail spokesman said this week: “We are aware of issues with the carriageway at Benhar Road which stem from a damaged drain in a manhole under the road surface.
“We will undertake a temporary repair on the weekend of February 24 and 25, using two-way traffic control, and will then fully repair in the summer after Station Road has re-opened.”
Kids draw on art skills to raise cash for Stane PS