Tuesday 3 December 2013

Update on road works between Blackhall and Horden

Following a number of rumours recently about possible road closures next year on the A1086 between Blackhall Colliery and Horden we have asked for a full update from the head of technical services at county hall.

We have reproduced his response below in full. We have also been promised monthly updates until works in this area are completed and we will publish these messages on this site as and when we receive them:

Permanent Solution
We are currently reviewing the Site Investigation Report recently received from our consultants Aecom to identify remedial measures. Once we have identified a way forward we will be able to provide an update on timescales for any future works. Unfortunately land slips like this are complex and it takes time to identify the underlying causes and come up with a permanent solution.
Temporary Solution
We carried out an inspection last Wednesday to consider the possibility of reopening the road to two way traffic. Although there is no evidence of cracking in the carriageway there was evidence of further cracks in the verge to the rear of the kerb suggesting that further movement has occurred so in the interest of public safety we cannot reopen the road to two way traffic at the moment.

We have considered whether we could widen the road to the north to provide the width required for two way traffic but do not think this is a viable solution. This would require works to both the existing footway and verge but the presence of utility apparatus in the footpath and verge/bankside also mean protection works to the utilities which could be costly and would not be a quick solution. Any works to widen the north side of the carriageway would require a full road closure as we would not want to divert traffic back on to the south side of the road carriageway adjacent to the slip whilst work was being carried out.

We will arrange for further enquiries with the utility companies to determine the likely implications should a widening be required in the future. In the meantime the existing traffic management will remain.