Residents post warning signs as drivers flout Reaseheath road closure

Fed-up residents in Nantwich concocted this series of humorous signs to try and convince motorists a busy stretch of road was actually closed!

Drivers on the A51 at Reaseheath have been diverted onto the new stretch of bypass in recent days as work continues to complete the new road.

But traffic lights at one end due to the works have resulted in long tailbacks.

Some impatient drivers decided the original stretch of the A51, which goes passed the front of Reaseheath College and a number of residential homes, must be open – despite clear “Road Ahead Closed” signs.

When motorists have reached the other end and found they were unable to get past the barriers, they have had to turn around and go back to the start again.

Concerned residents attached this series of notes to the existing signs as extra warnings.

The first one tells motorists there’s no way through and that their “sat navs are wrong”.

A second one further down points out “No really, it’s closed…” followed by another which says “Honestly, it’s closed, no secret way through”.

Drivers then reach the end with no way through, and a final extra sign greets them saying “we tried to warn you… this concludes today’s experiment”.

One said: “Some of them come speeding down, clearly in a rush and angry. They are then even more angry when they can’t get through and go even faster going back!

“A few foreign students are staying at Reaseheath College are not checking the road and nearly being taken out. It is a serious safety issue.

“One woman attending an event yesterday moved the cones and sign after I’d just put them back.

“I asked her to put them back. I’ve complained to the equine team and they are going to try and use the bus drivers’ entrance.”

Work on the new A51 Reaseheath bypass and connecting it up to both ends of the original road is due to be completed by the end of August.

Once open, it will allow traffic to access the Kingsbourne development as well as bypassing the houses in Reaseheath and the equine centre.

The road opening has been more than four years in the making.

It was a condition imposed as part of the planning approval for the 1,000-home Kingsbourne development and was originally due to open in February 2022.