TRAFFIC BUILDING UP ON A217 TO REIGATE / PEBBLE ROAD CLOSURE Response from Surrey County Council regarding the above matter... Thank you to Kate for sharing with us. Dear Mrs Birinder Enquiry regarding: Road works/closures in the Surrey area. I am sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction with current levels of traffic congestion and thank you for taking the time to inform us of your concerns and issues and we do welcome your feedback. We also understand your frustrations regarding the amount of works being undertaken in the local area. I would assure you we consider each set of works with regard to the timing, duration and necessity with a view to causing minimal disruption to all road users as a whole. If I may give some general background, road works are inevitable due to many factors whether safety improvements, new developments, maintenance of existing services and supplies, etc. and will invariably cause some interruption to normal traffic flows, particularly given the high volume of traffic on Surrey roads in general and on a road such as the A217 and surrounding roads where traffic volumes are particularly high. The works on the M23 are being carried out by the Highways Agency, who are responsible for the motorway network and major trunk roads. As such, as you rightly mention, I cannot comment on the nature of the works being carried out here, but I can advise you that the official diversion route for these works was discussed with Surrey County Council, and is not on any roads where Utility company works are taking place. Unfortunately, we cannot control which diversion routes people choose to take, hence congestion on A217 and surrounding roads. For more information on the works on the M23, and the diversion route, I would direct you to contact the Highways Agency on 0300 123 5000 or via email on [email protected]. There are various issues that drive the dates which works are carried out. Our own resurfacing works are required to bring our roads up to standard and over as part of our £100 million is being invested to achieve this. Utility companies are driven by Regulator requirements and targets, Ofgem, Ofwat etc., for instance water companies not meeting targets on leak rates will be subject to Regulator fines. In the case of the gas industry a Directive by the Health and Safety Executive to replace all metallic gas pipe work within 30 metres of property over thirty years following the explosion in Larkhall South Lanarkshire in 1999. (A programme which has a further 16 years to run). On top of this we have to deal with emergency works due to gas or water leaks, power failures or telecom disconnections. These generally having the most disruptive effect as they by their nature cannot be planned. The Street Works department within Surrey Highways at Surrey County Council are responsible for coordinating all works on the Surrey road network regarding utility works; every day we receive over 300 notifications regarding works across the County into our system, each of which are individually evaluated. We do not have powers to prevent works from being undertaken, we can however to some degree influence when works are carried out. The works on Pebble Hill are essential water mains replacement works being carried out by Sutton and East Surrey Water (SESW) and due to the width and nature of the road, require the road to be closed whilst they are completed. The space requirements for road works including the minimum width of road past a works site are controlled by the Department for Transport who issue a document Safety at Street Works and Road works, compliance with is not only best practice in terms of both road user and site worker safety, it is from the 1st of October this year statute for all works on the highway. Timings of other works in the area meant that this was the only time slot available for SESW to complete these works. We are very aware of the significance of this road in the local network and do not want it to be closed longer than necessary. Hence we have requested Sutton and East Surrey Water work extended hours on site each day and at weekends. Regarding road traffic management, consideration was given to using temporary traffic signals and the possibility of a one way system. Neither the temporary signals nor the one way system were viable due to the carriageway width not meeting the required standard. (A one way system not being encouraged generally as experience shows that when drivers know there will be nothing coming in the opposite direction it leads to a race track mentality. We have also experienced traffic running one way systems in reverse leading to a potential head on collisions). However as the project progresses this does not mean to say it will not be reviewed again in the near future. In addition, we have reviewed the possibility of night shift working. The result of which it meant it would not be practical for Sutton and East Surrey Water to excavate over night and reinstate to open the road again each morning for example. There are always health and safety risks of working in excavations under artificial light and the available hours of work under this method would increase the project duration many fold. Whilst the safety factor is the prime driver, completely closing the road also allows for more efficient working practices reducing the overall duration of the project hence after consultation with the road safety department of Surrey Police the decision was taken to invoke a road closure. More information can be found on waterplc/pages/news/press-releases/pebble-hill-road-closure. I trust this assists with an understanding of the situation. This email is in reference to the enquiry made on 17th October 2014 I am curious to find out who on earth in the council gave permission for so many road works and road closures to take place at the same time in one area. The M23 has roadworks on it, I am I guessing that is not something in your remit at all, but the closure of pebbles hill (and the resulting diversion) coupled with all the road works taking place around the redhill area are causing huge delays in the Reigate area. A journey up Reigate Hill would normally take me 5 mins (from Holmesdale School to the M25) it is currently taking me up to 30 mins. Getting back down it can take 45 mins! I have heard of some people where their 15 mins commute is taking 2 hours because of all the road works. How an earth can you close a road that results in a diversion through Reigate and then have major road works being allowed to take place on other roads. It is sheer madness and so badly thought out. I look forward to a response with what I dont doubt will be some sort of brushed under the carpet reasoning.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:17:46 +0000
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