Cracks force closure of A40 at Northleach... again

AROAD in the Cotswolds that was shut for two years after cracks appeared on the carriageway has been forced to closed again.

Heavy rain in September caused the cracks in the retaining wall of the old A40, also known as Prison Copse Wall, in Northleach, to become much worse.

The wall collapsed in 2017 and engineers have spent the past two years trying to fix it while residents fought a campaign to get it open again.

In March, the road - which links the A40 with the A429 - re-opened, with the authorities’ confidence in the repairs growing as the rain held off over the summer.

Now bosses say the fragile road will remain closed “for some time” while emergency remedial work gets underway.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire County Council said: “In 2019, a single lane of the carriageway was re-opened to light vehicles as the dry summer gave confidence that the risk of further deterioration to the road was lower.

“Following the heavy rain of September and a further inspection of the carriageway, sudden severe deterioration was observed and an emergency road

The council are taking all the necessary steps to resolve the situation but defects such as this do take considerable time to fix Gloucestershire City Council

closure was implemented on October 4 2019. The site is routinely monitored and has been entered into our forward programme of geotechnical works.

“Schemes of this nature are complex. Our engineers need to understand the detailed geology of the site and where the movement is occurring to advise on the most suitable solution.

“The council are taking all the necessary steps to resolve the situation but defects such as this do take considerable time to fix.

“Although it is not anticipated that the road will be re-opened in the immediate future it is our intention that a solution will be implemented that will fully restore the road and resolve the issues that have led to the failure in this location.”