Nottinghamshire's transport chief says there are "no easy options" for Rufford Ford's future after its recent closure over safety concerns. Nottinghamshire County Council announced earlier in the month that following talks with Nottinghamshire Police, drivers would no longer be able to drive through the watersplash on Rufford Lane after the site became an unexpected tourist destination.
Several popular YouTube videos began circulating of drivers unsuccessfully attempting to tackle the ford when the water was too deep. Crowds also began forming every weekend to watch vehicles going through the water.
But authorities said they were becoming increasingly concerned about the safety risk that this posed, particularly given the numbers of people who were eventually gathering. The council therefore announced the ford would be closed for the foreseeable future whilst a longer-term solution was developed.
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Gary Wood, the Group Manager for Highways at Nottinghamshire County Council, hopes this permanent solution will be found within the next six to 12 months. But Councillor Neil Clarke, who holds the transport and environment portfolio at Nottinghamshire County Council, warned that it would not be easy.
He said: "There are all sorts of possibilities and options but the trouble is that if there was an easy option, it would have been done. The fact is that it's a natural watercourse and anything easy would also be incredibly expensive.
"For instance, building a bridge over the whole ford would be extraordinarily expensive, so options need to be looked at and debated. I can't say what the final resolution will be."
Gary Wood added: "The desired outcome would be to try and slow vehicles down and make drivers think about their behaviours as they are approaching the ford. The other thing then would be to make sure that anybody watching and observing is safe as well.
"We also need to make sure that people have got advance signing when the ford is closed. Unfortunately, there are some people that occasionally ignore those types of signs so we need to think about what we can do to reinforce the safety."
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