Ambulance bosses say they are confident the closure of the busy A530 Middlewich Road to Leighton Hospital will not endanger patients in an emergency.
It comes after one resident revealed how a paramedic warned him that “people in Audlem will die” because of the time it is taking ambulances to get to Leighton.
One ambulance was photographed having to turn around while trying to cut through Sunnybank Road up toward Bentley.
Pyms Lane is no longer accessible, and with Middlewich Road closed between Pyms Lane and Smithy Lane, it means ambulances battling up an already congested Minshull New Road and past Leighton Academy.
The A530 closure, which began on May 9, is part of the 80-week North West Crewe Package of works to build a new road and roundabouts to ease congestion and access to the hospital.
A diversion has been set up all the way around the southern, eastern and northern outskirts of Crewe for non-emergency vehicles, adding as much as 45 minutes onto journeys.
One resident said: “An NWAS paramedic told me two weeks ago that ‘people in Audlem will die’ due to delays in accessing Leighton Hospital due to NWCP.
“He also told me about the detours onto Minshull New Road and Church Minshull.
“A second NWAS paramedic confirmed to me that no access is permitted to ambulances through Bentley Motors.
“I’ve driven down the full length of Minshull New Road on every day in the past fortnight.
“I’ve frequently had to pull over to the side of the road to let blue light ambulances pass by.
“The congestion is particularly bad at the end of the school day, when parents vehicles on parked on the road outside Leighton Academy and further down Minshull New Road after the Pyms Lane/Badger Ave roundabout as parents park up after picking up their children.
“Minshull New Road alone adds 15 minutes to my journey on weekdays.
“The reason ambulance crews take the wrong route along Sunnybank Road is due to lack of signage stating no through road.
“I’ve just driven along Sunnybank Road myself in the direction of Bentley Motors. I didn’t see any warning signage apart from a small roadside sign by the narrow railway bridge.”
But NWAS Operations Manager Steve Grimes said: “We are not concerned that the roadworks will create any significant delay and are confident that ambulances required to take the diversion can transport critically ill patients under blue light conditions in a timely manner.
“Local staff are fully aware of the road closures, and we are satisfied that the diversion is well signposted for emergency vehicles responding from out of the area.
“However, while we can’t comment on the specific cases highlighted, it’s understandable that crews might still make mistakes regarding access as they get used to the brand new scheme, as they might with any new road layout.”
We have also approached Mid Cheshire Hospitals Trust and are awaiting comments.
Driving down Minshull New Road from West Street is an absolute nightmare to the Roundabout,because of double parked cars,why can’t the Car owners park their cars around the back of their property on their allocated parking spaces which Bentley Motors built and paid for