A51 blunder heaps misery on motorists

Sep 26 2008 by Naomi Dunning, Chester Chronicle

DRIVERS and businesses face an extra week of traffic headaches due to the closure of the A51 after a contractor mistakenly laid the wrong road surface.

Motorists forced to bypass the busy A51 have been getting hot under the collar this summer after finding themselves stuck in endless queues for hours because of roadworks which were due to be completed by Saturday October 4.

However Cheshire County Council Highways revealed some parts of the new road between Clotton and Tarporley will have to be removed and replaced after contractors used the wrong materials when laying the road.

The A51 was closed in the first week of August between Clotton and Tarporley for resurfacing and restructuring work. It has caused widespread disruption with long queues of traffic, drivers using back roads as rat runs and businesses struggling to survive.

A county council highways spokesman said: “We are making every effort to complete the roadworks as soon as possible. However, there are technical difficulties with some road surfacing materials. This means we will be replacing unacceptable material before the top layer of asphalt is laid down.

“It is now likely the reopening of the A51 will be delayed to sometime near the weekend of Saturday, October 11.”

Contractors will now have to rip up parts of the road and replace it with better quality material before the final layer of asphalt can be put down.

Tim Okell, who owns Okells Nurseries on the A51, said: “It is ridiculous. We have been hit so hard. Last week I had to make a redundancy.

“This new delay is just going to add to our difficulties. We are being told the contractors are working long hours, but those who have driven through there have seen little evidence of this.”

Abdul Rahin, who owns the Spice Blu restaurant on the A51, said: “It has been dead for us. We are just not getting the trade. It has just been terrible.”