We recognise there is a great deal of interest in the repairs. The closure of the B6049 Stretfield Road will have an impact on many residents and we've been working hard to reduce inconvenience for the local community.
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Brough works update - Friday 28 June
Following the positive feedback to our last update, we’ve got some more news to share.
So far, this week, we have:
Used our 8.5 tonne excavator to remove the existing road surface on Stretfield Road. With the site exposed, the earth behind the collapsed retaining wall appears to be firm, helping to minimise the risk of any further collapses and additional work on site.
Removed 23 metres of the retaining wall parapet by hand to the level of the road.
Completely removed a 3 metre section of the old retaining wall to the level of the stream, to lay the new, stronger concrete foundations which we’ll use to rebuild the retaining wall. We’ve laid 23 metres of the new foundations so far. The foundations have been dug 600mm into the underlying bedrock for additional strength.
Reused the stonework we removed from the original retaining wall to cover over - ‘face up’ - the new concrete supporting wall to 1 metre in height, restoring the original appearance of the wall.
Enhanced the diversion, road closed, don’t use sat navs signs around the Hope Valley – close to 100 signs are now in place.
Spoken to several haulage companies about why their vehicles were in the centre of Castleton and asked them to remind their drivers to follow our diversion signs.
Reported an HGV to Derbyshire Police for enforcement action after it was spotted along Winnats Pass, breaking the weight limit along the route.
The images show the kinds of work we have been doing.
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Background
In late November 2023, following heavy rainfall, a 7 metre section of the Brough retaining wall collapsed.
The retaining wall supports the B6049 Stretfield Road through the village, which runs alongside the Bradwell Brook.
Stretfield Road is the main route between the A6187 Hope Road and the A623 in the south.
Temporary emergency repairs were carried out just before Christmas 2023 to shore up the retaining wall, remove loose stone and debris from the road and river. To prevent any further subsidence and damage, special construction bags were filled with concrete and placed where the wall had collapsed.
The emergency repairs also included reducing Stretfield Road to one lane, controlled by temporary lights, to reduce the risk of any further damage to the retaining wall from passing traffic.
The repairs
On Monday 17 June 2024, a major 12-week project will begin to rebuild the retaining wall.
The repairs include rebuilding 23 metres of the wall to strengthen it to reduce the risk of a future collapse.
Concrete will be used to reinforce the existing wall, which will be covered with the original stone recovered from the brook, to maintain the wall's natural appearance, in keeping with the local environment.
During the repairs, Stretfield Road will be closed to traffic in both directions as the road is very narrow where the wall has collapsed.
Pedestrian and cycle access will be available from 4:30pm until 8am. This arrangement will be in place 7 days a week.
To complete the repairs as quickly as possible, we aim to carry out the repairs 7 days a week, with extended hours subject to dry weather conditions.
Once the repairs have been completed, the road will reopen to 2-way traffic, removing the existing temporary traffic signals and lane restriction.
Find out more about the closure of Stretfield Road on One Network.
Complex, time consuming works
The repairs are a time consuming and complex job, working with the weather and the potential dangers of a damaged stone wall. Each stone must be removed by hand, cleaned and stored. Ecological requirements mean the work must be undertaken sensitively to avoid damaging the river bed.
All work must be done with one eye on the weather, in case of rain and flooding, and potential dangers for our workforce. A contingency period has been built into the timescale for the works, to allow for unseasonable weather conditions, but we will be working as quickly as we can to reopen the road.
The diversion route
As the road will be closed during the repairs to all traffic, a signed diversion route will be in place, using local A roads. This will provide a safe route for the HGVs which use Stretfield Road to serve local businesses.
The diversion route, shown on the map, will be Stretfield Road, B6049, A623 From Mires Lane To Long Lane, Middleton Dale, Grindleford Road, Froggatt Road, Froggatt Edge, A625 From Froggatt Edge To District Boundary, Owler Bar Road, Hathersage Road, Sheffield Road, Hope Road.
We apologise for any delays or inconvenience for local people.
Key:
- closure - road closed to all traffic, with limited pedestrian and cycle access from 4:30pm until 8am
- soft closure - road closed except for access to residential and business premises
- diversion - the diversion route for all traffic.
Eccles Lane
Eccles Lane will remain open throughout the wall repairs, providing a useful local link from Bradwell to Hope and the main A6187.
The lane is narrow and additional signing will be put in place by us to remind HGV users that it is unsuitable for large vehicles and 'Slow down' signs will also be installed.
Our highways team have made some repairs to the road surface and passing places along Eccles Lane.
We intend to monitor how much traffic uses the lane and will take further action if necessary.
Grindleford utility roadworks
From Wednesday 24 July 2024 until Tuesday 3 September 2024, Severn Trent Water will be working on the B6001, near Grindleford Primary School. The B6001 will be closed from the Sir William hotel to the junction with the B6521.
Temporary traffic lights will be in place on the B6521 through Grindleford, to allow lightweight traffic to reach Nether Padley.
The Severn Trent Water Grindleford works are not on our official signed A623 / A625 diversion route for the Brough retaining wall repairs, which is suitable for HGVs. We recognise that the Severn Trent Water works will affect people who may choose to use the Grindleford / Leadmill / Hathersage route instead.
We have worked closely with Severn Trent Water to reduce the duration of their planned road closure from 40 weeks to less than 6 weeks. The Severn Trent Water works have been carefully timed to coincide with the school summer holidays, to reduce inconvenience for parents, pupils and teachers attending the village primary school.
The retaining wall repairs must be completed this summer, otherwise we risk the complete collapse of the road and a much longer closure.
For further information about the Severn Trent Water works, please contact Severn Trent Water.
Find out more about the road closure on Sir William Hill Road, Grindleford.
Find out more about the road closure on Main Road, Grindleford.
Bus services
See information about changes to local bus services while the road is closed, including timetables for school buses from Bradwell, serving Hope Valley College and Lady Manners School at Bakewell.
Compensation for businesses during the road closure
The general rule is that there is no compensation if a business is affected by road works.
Successive governments have taken the view that businesses should not have the right in law to any particular given level of passing trade, and that traders must take the risk of loss due to temporary disruption of traffic flows along with all the other various risks of running a business.
There is no statutory provision for compensation by the highway authority if a business is affected by road works.
Further details are available in 'Roads: compensation for loss of business from road works'from the House of Commons Library.