Nottinghamshire County Council delay closure of busy Farndon to Hawton road
The closure of a busy Newark road has been delayed after a county councillor point out the chaos it would cause.
Sue Saddington, at a recent meeting with Nottinghamshire County Council Highways and Urban and Civic, heard that the council was planning to close the busy road that links Farndon to Hawton with just days’ notice, with traffic diverted through Middlebeck.
She said: “I told them you can’t just close that road with no notice, people need time to be able to plan their journey on another route or it will be such an inconvenience.”
The Southern Link Road will connect the A1 and A46 south of Newark, with the aim of relieving pressure on other parts of the road network, but Sue pointed out that closing the Hawton road while the ongoing work on the relief road would be a “huge inconvenience”.
“You can’t close one without opening the other,” she said.
The council have now agreed to postpone the closure of Farndon to Hawton road until the end of May, when it is hoped the next section of the link road will be open.
A highways manager at Nottinghamshire County Council said: “It was always our intention to close the road between Hawton and Farndon on a temporary basis, while work was carried out by National Highways on the A46.
“However, at the request of the local community, we have agreed to postpone this closure until the new Southern Link Road opens. In the meantime, temporary traffic lights have been installed on Hawton Lane to help manage the flow of traffic.
“When the new Southern Link Road opens, the road between Hawton and Farndon will close while work on the A46 continues. This is to ensure the safety of motorists and residents by preventing increasing numbers of vehicles using the route from the A1 to Fosse Road as a rat run over the narrow bridge and through the village.”
The county council has also confirmed that the temporary traffic lights on Hawton Bridge will also remain in place until the Southern Relief Road opens.
“We greatly appreciate the community’s patience and cooperation during this time,” the spokesman added.
