One road re-opens!

Tarporley Road works near completion

The Tarporley Road works have been a feature of village life for the past 5 weeks but there is every indication that they will be completed on Friday July 26th as planned. Councillor Cotgreave has been in regular contact with both Taylor Wimpey and the contractors to keep abreast of progress. Much of the rubble has been removed from the area already and the site will be left clean and tidy. The grass will be reseeded when the weather gets wetter.
Work has also started on the improvements to the Tarporley Road/A51 junction which should give clearer and unambiguous signs to traffic about priorities at this busy junction, scene of a number of accidents in the past.
Despite the closure of a major village artery there have been few complaints from residents about delays using the other junctions. Highway engineers have frequently stated that our three main junctions are NOT at capacity and this would seem to be underlined by the traffic flows during the road works. While the density of traffic on the main roads can be a frustration at times, it would appear that the junctions themselves are working well.
Councillor Cotgreave did comment on an issue that has arisen between the contractors and English Nature, who insisted that the new roadside kerbs be redone to allow the passage of the Great Crested Newts from their new home on the east of the road, to their old one on the housing site.

It seems that these creatures have migratory habits that must be allowed for in the design process.
This issue has not yet been resolved, though, given the extensive amount of preparation done by Taylor Wimpey prior to starting work, it seems unfortunate that this is being raised after the work has been done. Perhaps the kerb specifications were incorrect or misinterpreted. While the Parish Council was not in a position to make any formal comment on this issue, keen observers at the meeting might have detected a slight, audible intake of breath and a marginal raising of eyebrows!