AN extra 200 heavy lorries a day could be diverted onto the A350 through Westbury as a result of the a36 bridge weight restrictions in Bath.
Figures from Wiltshire Council show that they expect an increase of 24% of 18-tonne+ vehicles going through the town – bringing the total every day to over 1,000 vehicles. As of Monday 3rd February, Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) enforced an 18-tonne weight limit restriction on the Cleveland bridge due to it being under threat structurally, pushing many lorries onto the A350.
Wiltshire Council say they will be monitoring the actual impact and will discuss final arrangements for traffic management with BANES.
The news has angered local people. Malcolm Smith, resident on Haynes Road said, “Since the weight restrictions in Bath it has been bedlam. More lorries have come through in the last couple of days than I have seen in the previous fortnight, outside here and all through the town. The heavier lorries are shaking the doors in my house too. It’s ridiculous, it’s going to get worse and be bedlam. It’s getting more congested and with all the houses being built, its creating more traffic in the town.
“Westbury is not a town any more, it’s a motorway through here. Traffic just goes straight through, it’s like Westbury doesn’t exist.”
Westbury councillor Ian Cunningham said, “I think that most people would agree that one of the most unpleasant aspects of our traffic problems in Westbury is the HGVs travelling through our meandering town centre, past people on narrow pavements and close to properties with little or no separation from the road with the pollution, dirt, noise and vibration that entails.
“Bath’s figures, which I suggest are low as they don’t include local traffic, indicate an alarming increase by a quarter in HGVs passing through Westbury and their apparent lack of concern for the residents of Westbury is shocking.
“When BANES were trying to bring about the closure of this route by including the bridge in their clean air zone plans last year, our town clerk and I met with their representatives and stressed how unfair and unwelcome extra traffic through Westbury would be; it seems that this did not weigh heavily on their thinking.
“If the announcement had been that they were closing the bridge to begin urgent works, with an estimated finish date in the near future, it would be a different matter, but it must be obvious that the closure with no plans for any resolution suits repeated attempts to get this route closed and permanently divert heavy traffic along the inadequate A350 throughout Wiltshire and Westbury – the town which is most blighted by this sort of traffic.
“Highways England and the Department for Transport should never have allowed this to happen and need to act quickly to resolve it.”
Mayor cllr Mike Sutton said, “I am not surprised that projected figures show a large potential increase in heavy vehicles redirected through the A350 at Westbury due to the imposed weight restriction on Cleveland Bridge in Bath as it was very predictable looking at current traffic flows.
“Personally I have some sympathy with Bath Council and residents who are trying to deal with heavy traffic and pollution where other options are not immediately available and am aware that Wiltshire Council have imposed even more stringent restrictions on the bridge over the railway on Station Road, Westbury.
“What I do find surprising and unacceptable to the residents of Westbury is that the unitary authority and Highways Agency knew well before Westbury, the implications for the A350 here, once Bath had been declared by the government as an ‘Air Quality’ action zone. Having known the implications in advance, it is disappointing that neither have come up with any plan or ideas to mitigate the effects on the residents of our town, especially since this closure is unlikely to be brief. It seems their only response is to grin and bear it which, once again, shows a disregard for the people of Westbury.”
