The Easter weekend is over – the roadworks are back 😒

The rest of the week’s weather is going to be showers, on and off. And Ludlow’s roads will have roadworks, on and off.

A truce was negotiated on roadworks over Easter.

The lane closure on Station Drive was lifted. It is expected back any day and will be in place until lift works are completed.

The troublesome roadworks on the Foldgate Lane Sheet Road junction were removed for the weekend. The contractors infilled the trench and laid a tarmac temporary patch. Work on the sewer connection is expected to begin again today and the lights will be back until this section of work is completed which should not be many days.

This sewer is to allow the next phases of the Ludlow View development to go ahead, including 42 desperately needed affordable homes.

Today also, roadworks will commence on Henley Road, just east of the Sandpits Road junction. A small section of road is being resurfaced. This is hardly a priority compared to the wrecked road that is Gravel Hill. But Shropshire Council’s highways department has always been chaotic in its priorities. It’s a black box and I have never been able to work out how councillor input leads to roadworks output.

The roadworks on Henley Road might only take one day as it is not that big a job and the good weather is due to hold until mid-afternoon. Originally, the road was to be closed for two days severely disrupting buses. I met the contractors on site and within minutes we agreed that buses could be guided through the works. Shropshire Highways had not thought through the impact of the work or done anything to ease the disruption.

Roadworks on Henley Road are scheduled at the same time as roadworks because they were organised by different parts of Shropshire Council’s highways department that clearly don’t talk to each other.

The work on Henley Road is being conducted by Maltevo. The words amongst the boys from the black stuff is that Lancashire based Maltevo has taken over from Keir as the maintenance contractor for many roads in Shropshire. There has been no announcement form the council on this but we are used to the council not telling us what is going on.

On Thursday, Seven Trent Water will have traffic lights on Lower Galdeford between 09.30 and 15:30.

Also on Thursday, Ludford Bridge will be close from 09:30 to 16:00 for inspection of the structural integrity of the bridge.

Broad Street will be closed between Brand Lane and the Buttercross from Tuesday 9 April to 12 April for Seven Trent Water works.

Looking further ahead, Seven Trent Water will close Temeside from Old Street to Weeping Cross for sewage works from 25 April to 19 July.