More delays to the re-opening of the A530 Middlewich Road between Nantwich and Leighton Hospital have been blamed on the weather.
The road between Pyms Lane and the hospital is now not expected to re-open until February 2023 at the earliest.
It was first closed in May and was due to re-open in October after the first phase of the North West Crewe Package of works was complete.
But that was delayed until January 4 2023, and initially blamed on utility companies not carrying the necessary works on time.
Now Cheshire East Council chiefs have admitted winter weather conditions meant “some works have inevitably been delayed recently”.
Apologising to residents, Cllr Craig Browne, chair of Cheshire East Council’s highways and transport committee, said: “As is always the case with winter highways projects, construction programmes are subject to weather conditions.
“Heavy rainfall in November and recent freezing conditions has meant that some road construction and surfacing could not progress as planned.
“For example, tarmac surfacing will quickly fail if it is laid when temperatures are below 4°C, so some works have inevitably been delayed recently. Where possible, works have been reprogrammed to reduce these impacts.
“We now anticipate reopening the A530 Middlewich Road in February, but we will continue to work extra hours in order to reopen the road as soon as possible.
“We apologise to residents for the delay to the reopening of the southern section of the A530.The overall scheme is on track to be completed by early 2024.
“Residents can keep up to date with the latest developments on the North West Crewe Package scheme by subscribing to the council’s monthly newsletters, which are also available through the project’s dedicated web pages.”
Only last week, the CEC website still maintained it was due to re-open on January 4. The site has since been updated after the council was contacted by Nantwich News.
The North West Crewe Package of road improvements is aimed at improving accessing to Leighton Hospital and easing traffic problems on the approach around Flowers Lane, Smithy Lane and Minshull New Road.
CEC says various closures are required along the A530 Middlewich Road, Flowers Lane, Smithy Lane, and Minshull New Road to “safely undertake construction activities”.
The council was criticised for putting in place a 45-minute diversion for traffic from Nantwich heading north to the hospital.
The diversion sent traffic along the A500 and around the east of Crewe on Sydney Road and Bradfield Road.
The whole scheme was due to be completed by early 2024.
It includes the construction of a new 2.6km single carriageway road and seven new roundabouts as well as the realignment of Smithy Lane, Flowers Lane and existing junction improvements on A530 Middlewich Road and Minshull New Road.
The package also includes the extension of the Connect 2 walking and cycling route to Leighton Hospital and North West Crewe.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the HS2 link to Crewe is finished before both this and the new road at Reaseheath
What will be CEC’s first bad news story in January 2023? It is likely to continue.
How can Councillors let poor management and delivery continue, surely CEC needs a review of its senior management and senior elected members.
This project should have capitalised on the spring/summer we’ve just had and targeted completion before the autumn. All that good working window and the contractors still finish at 4pm on a Friday. Pay the overtime and get it finished.
These infrastructure projects take too long to complete. It should never be a surprise that winter weather causes delays so plan ahead and maximise the construction during the best window of opportunity
Yesterday everything was on track and the council leader was upset that people were criticising Cheshire East and today….. Well something definitely is wrong with the whole process and unfortunately it’s never the management of the project, it’s rather someone else’s fault whether that be their contractors or now the weather. Hopefully there won’t be anymore delays although the Cheshire East track record for such large projects isn’t particularly good.