Two examples from opposite sides of the country have highlighted the true and often hidden cost of roadworks.
Firstly, the landlord of a much-loved Norfolk pub said “horrendous” roadworks have cost the business a quarter of its usual trade. According to Paul Sandford, owner of the Railway Tavern in Dereham, the closures to the A47 slip road and Yaxham Road meant footfall at the venue fell by 25%, says the Dereham Times.
Both closures were put in place on Friday 15 Augus after a vehicle collided with a barrier and have since caused severe disruption.
And while Yaxham Road, which the pub and other businesses such as Roys and McDonald’s are on, has since re-opened, one half of the A47 slip road will remain closed until Friday.
Mr Sandford said businesses up and down the road have been impacted as people looked to avoid driving near the area:
“It’s been horrendous. “I know accidents happen but there hasn’t been any sort of speed in the repair. “There’s been a couple of guys at the bottom of the bypass all week but there’s been no attempt to repair that bridge.”
He added that the section of the A47 slip road which remains closed continues to cause damage to trade.
National Highways had said at the start of the week that the entire slip road would reopen by Tuesday morning.
Mr Sandford said:
“It’s really frustrating because you can’t get any answers, no one gives you any information at all. “There’s been a couple of guys at the bottom of the bypass all week but there’s been no attempt to repair that bridge. It’s horrible for the people involved in the accident but you’ve still got to earn a living and pay wages.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Power has agreed to pay a forecourt operator in Shropshire compensation after their business was effectively shut down by works that saw the energy company close the main road their filling station sits on, says Forecourt Trader.
Tim Wilfort of Shawbury Service Station on the A53 resorted to asking Shropshire County Council for help after the power company closed the road for a day without giving him any notice. The Council agreed that he should have forewarned of the closure and, after also speaking to the BBC and “kicking up a stink” Scottish Power agreed to compensate Mr Wilford for an amount that represented his income on an average August Sunday.
The road closure came only a few weeks after BT closed the entrance to the forecourt for fibre optic cable replacement, again carried out without any prior notification to the business.
(Pic: Mapillary)
