Latest tunnels discovery has changed the road repair plans.
The badger issue in Mablethorpe has turned out to be much more severe than previously thought – which means that the impact on local road users is going to be extended.
Originally, there was going to be a road closure at Seaholme Road in the town. This was going to happen across last weekend whilst expert teams moved the badgers and sealed up their sett. The expert survey had revealed that badgers had tunneled under the footpath and road causing sections of the structure to collapse.
The plan was for this work to need 48 hours of closed roads because, under Natural England’s rules, roadworks cannot happen with a part-open road for the safety of the badgers.
But a new headache has emerged. Whilst the specialists were under the road, securing the first set of tunnels, a second set of digging was found. This new set of tunnels have run under the second half of the road, under the utilities buried at the site.
These new tunnels weren’t found by the first expert survey because they had dug under the services buried in the ground. These new tunnels are a full 1-1.5m deep and have utility pipes across the top of them.
Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for Highways at LCC said: “The frustration with getting these badger works sorted is growing. We are working as hard as we can to restore this road so that the people of Mablethorpe can get on with their daily lives in the way they expect.
“We can’t move the badgers without a road closure, Natural England also says that we must finish the work by the end of November otherwise we can’t get this collapse repaired until next year.
“And now we find that there’s more tunnels, this time under the rest of the road. And this is going to complicate matters further, not in small part because of the restrictions placed upon us. Whilst the badgers are being very well accommodated, Mablethorpe road users are having to bear the brunt of some serious disruption in their area. It feels very unfair.”
LCC will now NOT be able to lift the road closure on the road and return to temporary traffic lights as first planned. Because of the extra excavation, and the A1104 roadworks that are happening nearby, the authority has had to come up with a new plan, speedily.
Seaholme Road will remain under full closure whilst the new set of badger tunnels are dealt with, and the road reinstatement works are carried out. LCC crews will be working flat out to get the works completed as quickly as possible.
The plan is to have the road open again by November 20, but with the caveat that any more currently unforeseen factors may push this date further towards the end of the month if necessary.
Cllr Davies added: “We have spoken to the bus companies as a matter of urgency, and we are putting extra people on shift to get this work done.
“Because everything has to be completed by the end of the month, we can’t try a temporary traffic light fix to ease traffic flow because if it doesn’t work and the badgers’ damage can’t be fixed quickly enough, then there is the risk that the road won’t be useable until next July.
“We can’t have that for Mablethorpe. It’s not the road user’s fault that this has happened and we need to get this issue sorted out, even with all the time restrictions that Natural England have placed on the works.
“I want to express our thanks to everyone affected by this so far. Your patience and understanding of what we’re trying to do in order to have the road usable and open again for December is very much appreciated.
“We will get this work completed as quickly as we possibly can.”