Delayed start to roundabout work
ALARGE question mark still hangs over the start date for work at Broken Cross roundabout - and the predicted traffic chaos it will cause.
The project to turn the roundabout into a traffic light junction was due to begin at the start of the summer holidays.
But as of this week, workers were still not on site and Cheshire East Council has said it has not yet granted a street work permit.
It is believed that, before making a decision on the permit, the council is still waiting for more information from the contractor chosen to carry out the scheme by house developer Bellway.
The company must create the traffic light junction before anyone can move into the homes it is building, off Chelford Road, Macclesfield.
The houses themselves are controversial, as is the traffic scheme connected to it.
Henbury Parish Council says there will be road chaos both during the work and after it is has finished, sending the council a list of 28 concerns about the scheme to be addressed. Despite this, details of the traffic scheme were approved by the council - but it has stalled on issuing a permit for the work to start.
A request from the contractor to begin on August 1 was also turned down.
Tom Shuttleworth, interim head of highways at the council, said: “We are awaiting further information from the developer’s principal contractor to be able to assess the granting of a street works permit.
“The emphasis is on them to provide this and until they do, I cannot be more definitive on a timescale for the works to be permitted to commence.”
In the meantime, workers from a utility company Energetics are at the site installing ductwork and electricity cables.
Mr Shuttleworth added: “Any conflict with these works will also need to be considered when granting a start date for the permit.”
It is thought once the work starts it will run well into the autumn and fourway temporary traffic lights will be needed.
Among concerns raised about it upon completion are disabled access to a zebra crossing, the pavement not being wide enough near the crossing, and the placement of a bus stop leading to traffic build up.
It was also said traffic from the nearby Tesco had not been accounted for and would combine with the bus stop to produce gridlock.
Bellway has said that a highways assessment showed traffic generation from the new houses would not have a severe impact on the Broken Cross junction.