KING’S LYNN: Call for lessons to be learned after road chaos
A furious bus boss has blasted total road chaos which caused hours of gridlock in Lynn and spread traffic disruption as far as Spalding and Norwich.
Road repairs on the A47 between the Hardwick and Pullover roundabouts on Friday afternoon brought traffic in town to a standstill.
Norfolk Green managing director Ben Colson hit out at the Highways Agency for closing the eastbound carriageway at the busiest time on one of the busiest days of the week to repair a large pot hole.
Mr Colson said: “We experience major road chaos in Lynn probably half a dozen times a year but Friday’s was among the worst ever.”
An investigation was needed and plans should be put in place to minimise the chance of such total gridlock happening again, he said.
The Highways Agency originally expected the partial road closure would be for two hours from midday but it continued until about 5pm.
Mr Colson criticised two passengers who aggressively threatened Norfolk Green staff doing their best to help in impossible circumstances. “That is something we shall be much less tolerant of in future,” he said.
He was particularly concerned because the chaos arose as a result of pre-planned works rather than freak weather or a traffic accident.
Mr Colson said: “Lessons must be learned and implemented. There must be much tighter controls of roadworks. Friday must be the wake-up call.”
A Highways Agency spokesman said: “We were alerted to lifting and cracking of the road surface at 8am on Thursday and carried out temporary repairs to minimise disruption to road users.”
On Friday, work had to wait until noon when the temperature was high enough to allow the surfacing material to set. During the work, further damage was identified which had to be repaired before the road could safely be reopened.
The spokesman regretted any inconvenience caused to road users by the “necessary” road closure and said the Agency would be happy to meet with Mr Colson to discuss what happened further.
A spokesman for Lynn Police said: “Officers assisted the Highways Agency to reduce the congestion as much as possible, including uniformed officers and PCSOs directing traffic in certain locations and helping with the removal of a broken down lorry on the Southgates Roundabout.”
About 3pm, it was decided to open up the new bus route in South Lynn to enable drivers to leave the town centre and she thanked Norfolk Green for allowing that.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 4 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 5 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North
