Hylton Road closure causes huge tailbacks on diversion route

9:24am Friday 15th February 2013 in News By Tarik Al Rasheed

Gas works causing traffic chaos Gas works causing traffic chaos

WORCESTERSHIRE County Council is reporting that Hylton Road, St John's, Worcester, is due to re-open this afternoon.

However, temporary traffic lights will remain in place while National Grid continues to carry out gas repair works near the Crown and Anchor.

Access to Hylton Road properties is via the city centre end of the road. The university end is shut.

Earlier, frustrated commuters were being caught in queues of up to an hour heading towards the city along Henwick Road, which is being used as a diversion while Hylton Road is closed for National Grid to carry out repair work on a leaking gas main.

The “emergency closure” of Hylton Road was put in place at 7pm last night.

The closure is the latest in a catalogue of problems along Hylton Road, which has been closed several times in recent weeks due to flood water rising out of drains.

One frustrated resident of Lechmere Crescent called the Worcester News this morning as she sat in the traffic on Henwick Road.

She said she had been stuck in the tailback for almost an hour and that had made her late for work and her son late for school.

“At the moment I feel quite angry to be stuck in traffic again,” she said. “It feels like the road has not been open properly for more than two weeks for a long time now.

“It is an absolute mess. We are watching the petrol guage drop as we just sit here.”

She added: “Somebody, somewhere should be compensating us for this. It has been going on for weeks and weeks. If they are not careful then house prices are going to fall because these will be known as the roads that no-one can get to.”

Bus disruption

31B (Worcester – Hylton Road – University – Henwick Park): This service is being operated along the standard 31 route, omitting Hylton Road and diverting via St John’s and Laugherne Road instead due to the emergency gas works. It is expected to return to its normal route later this afternoon when the road is to re-open under temporary traffic lights.

• Click here for the latest traffic and travel news.

 

 

Comments(5)

MulsanneChap says...
10:36am Fri 15 Feb 13

I'm sure all the recent disruption on Hylton Road is being done on purpose by the highways department and all the other companies. So the next time a gas leak occurs on this road, or it floods due to the nearby river, or indeed something else happens that would normally require addressing, I hope nothing is done so that the resident of Lechmere Crescent is not inconvienced. I suspect she requests compensation when queing at the checkout in her local supermarket.

Report this post »

Andy_R says...
11:53am Fri 15 Feb 13

The problem is that there's no incentive for utility companies to finish digging up the road quickly. They are perfectly happy to dig a road up and then do nothing for a week while they wait for some equipment to finish it's previous job, because if costs them nothing to do it like that.

The answer is blindingly obvious too - a tax on road closures. If it was costing National Grid even a fraction of the losses Worcester was sustaining due to people being stuck in this gridlock, then they would we working through the night to get this finished, instead of just blocking the road and clearing off for a few days.

If it costs me £3 to park for a few hours in a marked bay that's not in anyone's way, why is it costing National Grid nothing to take over an entire road for weeks?

Report this post »

Jabba69 says...
1:11pm Fri 15 Feb 13

The problem with the traffic could be significantly improved when Hylton Road is closed by putting in temporary filtering traffic control where Henwick Road meets Bromyard Road, Its here that the traffic gets jammed. Rather than just closing the road, and letting the traffic fend for itself, surley it would be wise to contol it. After all there are no more cars coming into the city, they are just on a parallel road with no filter at the end. It must be costing business thousands in lost working time when there is no reason for it.

Report this post »

Redhillman says...
3:05pm Fri 15 Feb 13

MulsanneChap wrote:
I'm sure all the recent disruption on Hylton Road is being done on purpose by the highways department and all the other companies. So the next time a gas leak occurs on this road, or it floods due to the nearby river, or indeed something else happens that would normally require addressing, I hope nothing is done so that the resident of Lechmere Crescent is not inconvienced. I suspect she requests compensation when queing at the checkout in her local supermarket.
You're totally missing the point. If this was an emergency, then why weren't National Grid on site immediately carrying out their works? They weren't, while the highways department quite happily allowed the road to be closed prematurely without asking questions.

And if the highways department did their job properly, then they would not only be forcing National Grid to start the works and finish asap, but also fining them for closing the road too early. Instead, they seem happy to allow roads to be closed let, right and centre without asking questions or recognising the implications and disruption caused. It almost seems that the highways people are in bed with the utility companies rather than realising that they should be managing the roads which we pay them to do.

Report this post »

barneyhome says...
3:21pm Fri 15 Feb 13

Do you not think people should just get a grip. If you sat in traffic and worried about the fuel you are using, switch your engine off. Its not rocket science.

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree