The flagship £49million Gedling Access Road will partially shut tonight while Nottinghamshire County Council fixes an 'embarrassing' pothole. The damage, which was caused by farm machinery, was found on December 22, just nine months to the day since the road's March 22 opening.
On Wednesday, January 11, a section of the road will be closed for repairs to take place. The pothole is located near the second roundabout when travelling southeast on the road, and resulted in the Conservative-led county authority receiving criticism from opposing political parties.
This section will be closed overnight from 7pm on January 11 until 5am the following day, with the closure stretching to the junction with Lambley Lane. The road, officially named Colliery Way, was constructed after decades of campaigning to ease traffic and congestion through Gedling village.
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It was initially due to open in autumn 2021 and was budgeted at £40m but price increases fuelled by the pandemic pushed the project back and costs up. The council said the pothole was part of wider damage to the road surface and was caused by 'badly-fitted farm machinery'.
Taxpayers will not foot the bill to repair the road, because the council is currently in a warranty agreement with its contractor Balfour Beatty. The hole has since been filled with temporary asphalt solution 'Viafix' and the works this week will be a more permanent repair to the road.
Last month, Gary Wood, head of highways and transport at the council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We are already aware of some damage to Colliery Way caused by badly-fitted farm machinery.
"This latest damage will be investigated to ascertain the cause. The road is still under warranty with Balfour Beatty which will carry out any permanent repair required at no cost to the council.
"In the meantime, the road has been made safe and will remain under review." His comments came just a week after he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the authority hoped a pothole would not appear on the road for 'something like 10 years'.
Speaking on the same day, Councillor Neil Clarke (Con), cabinet member for transport, added: "As far as I'm aware, there hasn't been a pothole and let's hope it's many years before one appears." It led to an opposition leader describing the pothole as a 'major embarrassment' for the authority.
Cllr Helen-Ann Smith (Ash Ind) is the deputy leader of the Independent Alliance at County Hall. She said last month: "This £49m flagship road was completed massively over budget but was hailed as an example of the council’s new-found prowess at building roads.
"This is a major embarrassment for the Conservatives at County Hall."
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