Council called to task for lack of updated information on road closures and for not checking on status of works
A COUNCILLOR has called on Thurrock Council to improve its communication to residents and act quickly to manage road closures in the borough.
East Tilbury councillor Fraser Massey was speaking in the wake of a week-long closure of Muckingford Road which was originally due to shut for two days at most to allow BT to carry out work.
That work should have happened overnight between Monday, 9 October, starting at 8.30am, and be completed by Tuesday, 10 October at 3.30pm.
However, that didn't happen and the road remained closed.
The closure of a busy link road between the villages of East Tilbury and Linford and neighbouring Chadwell St Mary caused significant inconvenience for residents and motorists – and the problem was exacerbated when one of two other options to get in and out of East Tilbury was closed by an incident at a rail level crossing.
Residents were angry that the road was closed despite no work taking place.
Eventually, after pressure from Cllr Massey and residents, Thurrock Council stepped in and met with BT engineers and a one way system of traffic lights was put in at the start of this week to finally allow the road to be used.
However, on Tuesday evening and this morning (Wednesday, 18 October) motorists reported the lights were failing, in some instances showing green in both directions causing risk of collision - or at other times both being red, causing traffic to back up.
The council also says it will now fine BT for the failure to adhere to its agreement.
Work has still not recommenced on the site.
A statement from Thurrock Council says: "These are emergency works and the council has no powers to prevent them from taking place, that was also the case with the works at the rail crossing. The temporary traffic regulation order (TTRO) on Muckingford Road is valid until 30 October.
"However, BT, who are carrying out the emergency works, have gone beyond the time limits set out in their Works Order and will now be issued with a fine for each additional day they occupy this site.
"BT have changed the Traffic Management to two-way lights after completing a risk assessment."
Cllr Massey says he recognises emergency work will sometimes necessitate inconvenience but he believes the council has a duty of care to take its management of highways more seriously.
He told Thurrock Nub News: "It is unacceptable that there have been long delays and a lack of action over this incident.
"It doesn't seem to matter to certain people that residents and motorists are being massively inconvenienced and kept in the dark.
"Although I have been kept updated by officers over six days, the message has been there is no significant update."
There have been other traffic management orders in the area around East Tilbury that have caused confusion.
For example the council issued an order in August, warning motorists that Buckingham Hill Road between Linford and Stanford Road would be closed between Monday, 11 September and the following Tuesday morning to allow the installation of cats eyes. The work didn't happen.
And Waltons Hall Road between Linford and Stanford-le-Hope was due to be closed for four nights this week to allow the council to remove crash barriers which it now deemed redundant or too expensive to keep repairing. No work happened on Monday, though the road was closed last night (Tuesday, 17 October).
The council has been asked for an update on the latter two projects, but no response has been received as yet.
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