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A HEADTEACHER at a city school has called for work on the A40 to be done around the clock. Lawrence Montagu, of St Peter's High School, believes that if more work is done now, including at night, the roadworks could be completed before the winter months. "There's no question, they should be working 24/7. I am extremely concerned for the children's safety come the winter months," he said. "On Monday, the bus arrived late at 9.30am and some children were on there for five hours. "In the winter they may have to wait for the bus in the cold and rain and then wait all that time before they get here. Something has to happen. "Why can't they work around the clock? The cost to the community has to be balanced against the cost of the development." He has the backing of drivers using the nightmare stretch of road between Highnam and Over. Alan Steward, from Hempsted, said: "Have the planners forgotten that there are 24 hours in a day and seven days in a week? "The cost may have been more but in many cases the advantage of continuous operation outweighs the stop and start of daily work and the disruption it brings." A Highways Agency spokesman said working constantly at night was not an option. "The depth of excavation that is required precludes the work from being done within an eight-hour period, therefore working overnight and reopening the road each morning is not possible," he said. "Some work will be carried out overnight, for example the resurfacing of the roundabouts at each end of the scheme. However running constant shifts for the entire period is not practical for a number of reasons. "There is insufficient availability of skilled, experienced manpower to run rotating shifts for such an extensive period. There are also a number of residences adjacent to the area of work that would be subject to nuisance from noise and light during overnight working. This is unacceptable under environmental health considerations." He added that all work is currently on schedule and that there is no reason to believe that work will overrun the 26-week timeframe specified at the start of the development. Gloucestershire County Council said it was not responsible for any works other than the bus lane. http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/ |
