Following the recent incident that sadly resulted once again in damage to the Swale Bridge, we have been advised that plans are now in place to recover any salvageable stone from the river in the relatively near future and that engineers will then look formally to assess the damage and to identify what work needs to be carried out for a full repair. However, we have been warned that, for a variety of reasons - not least because the bridge is a listed structure as well as this involving an insurance claim - it is unlikely that the bridge repair will happen quickly!
The Parish Council has already expressed its concerns to North Yorkshire Council that, following the unavoidable closure of the bridge as a result of the recent tractor accident, and despite the new signage that has been provided at Warlaby cross-roads and in Boroughbridge Road and elsewhere to advise drivers of the situation, many vehicles continued to enter the village while the bridge remained closed, causing inconvenience to residents when drivers discovered that they were obliged to turn round and go back. NY Council has stressed that it has no powers to deal with such transgressions, which are, properly, a matter for NY Police.
NY Council has advised that it is looking to install some additional permanent road closed signs on Ainderby Road to support the ones installed last year. These will be in the Leases Lane/Ainderby Road area which will complement the other signage that can now be used to notify when the bridge is closed for any reason.
The Parish Council has suggested that consideration also be given to deploying new signs in Dolly Lane, since a considerable number of vehicles do regularly turn right from Dolly Lane onto the A684, and that the existing emergency signage, just west of the Warlaby junction, is possibly sited too close to that junction to be able to be registered by drivers approaching from that direction - and, in any case, it is probably too late by then for them to consider taking an alternative route anyway! As a (very) last resort, temporary diversion signs at the end of Thrintoft Lane and Station Lane might perhaps be worth considering?
The Parish Council has also suggested that NY Council might consider similar signage to that which has already been installed on the town side of the Boroughbridge Road/Lees Road roundabout being installed on the opposite side of that roundabout for the benefit of traffic approaching from the North Otterington/Kirby Wiske direction.
Published: 05/08/2023 Published by: Admin
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