Error extends Airman's Corner works (From Salisbury Journal)
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Error extends Airman's Corner works
6:40am Thursday 14th March 2013 in Headlines By Corey Ross
AN error by designers has led to the time being taken to complete road works near Stonehenge being more than doubled to almost a year.
Changes are being made to the junction at Airman’s Corner on the A344 and A360 to put in a new roundabout as part of the plans for the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre.
The work started on July 9 and was supposed to take 23 weeks but throughout February drivers noticed signs being changed one by one to say the work will take 49 weeks.
According to a reliable source, the contractors carrying out the redesign on behalf of English Heritage made a mistake in measurements when carrying out the survey.
They then had to rework the plans, but as the temporary traffic lights were already in place they decided not to remove them while they fixed the error.
The road works are causing delays and people have been left angry by the news they will now take longer than planned.
David Graney from Shrewton, who has to travel through the temporary traffic lights daily on his way to work, said the road works add an average of ten minutes to his journey, and on occasions he has been stuck there for as long as 40 minutes, when the queue has gone all the way back to Shrewton.
He said: “It’s not right that they can just double the time without any warning or announcement whatsoever. There isn’t really an alternative route for people living in Shrewton.
“We had all resigned ourselves to the 23 weeks and kind of got used to it but now it won’t be gone until the summer.
How can it take 49 weeks to put in a roundabout?”
An English Heritage spokesman said: “There have been some unexpected design and construction issues with the building of the roundabout and the programme of works is longer than originally anticipated. The new dates have been posted on signs on the highway in accordance with statutory procedures. We apologise for any inconvenience caused due to these unforeseen circumstances.”
Comments(9)
Yer Tis
says...
9:02am Thu 14 Mar 13
Mystery Mike
says...
10:21am Thu 14 Mar 13
Grampie
says...
10:42am Thu 14 Mar 13
Mystery Mike wrote:They call it traffic calming. I just get annoyed about the number of traffic lights that spring up.
Why are so many roundabouts popping up where there never used to be? Do developers get a bonus for every roundabout they squeeze into every development? You can hardly drive down any road now without there being a pointless little roundabout.
A nice little earner for the traffic light companies who get paid for putting them in, then a regular income for maintenance.
Wouldn't there be a howl of protest if the work at Stonehenge was done by direct labour, instead of by a private company, which is supposed to be so much more efficient?
Yer Tis
says...
10:55am Thu 14 Mar 13
Grampie wrote:Wouldn't there be a howl of protest if the work at Stonehenge was done by direct labour, instead of by a private company, which is supposed to be so much more efficient?
Mystery Mike wrote:They call it traffic calming. I just get annoyed about the number of traffic lights that spring up.
Why are so many roundabouts popping up where there never used to be? Do developers get a bonus for every roundabout they squeeze into every development? You can hardly drive down any road now without there being a pointless little roundabout.
A nice little earner for the traffic light companies who get paid for putting them in, then a regular income for maintenance.
Wouldn't there be a howl of protest if the work at Stonehenge was done by direct labour, instead of by a private company, which is supposed to be so much more efficient?
Don't think English Heritage have any road builders on their books, as they dont have much call for them, hence contracted out
VillageMum
says...
11:01am Fri 15 Mar 13
Grampie
says...
3:41pm Fri 15 Mar 13
Yer Tis wrote:There are a certain section in the community that argues that private is better than public and are always ready to complain when things in the public sector goes wrong. Often they are involved with private companies.
Grampie wrote:Wouldn't there be a howl of protest if the work at Stonehenge was done by direct labour, instead of by a private company, which is supposed to be so much more efficient?
Mystery Mike wrote:They call it traffic calming. I just get annoyed about the number of traffic lights that spring up.
Why are so many roundabouts popping up where there never used to be? Do developers get a bonus for every roundabout they squeeze into every development? You can hardly drive down any road now without there being a pointless little roundabout.
A nice little earner for the traffic light companies who get paid for putting them in, then a regular income for maintenance.
Wouldn't there be a howl of protest if the work at Stonehenge was done by direct labour, instead of by a private company, which is supposed to be so much more efficient?
Don't think English Heritage have any road builders on their books, as they dont have much call for them, hence contracted out
They never seem to complain when things go wrong in the private sector.
nesspah
says...
7:30pm Fri 15 Mar 13
I don't know if that's true.
karlmarx
says...
8:13pm Sun 17 Mar 13
Isn't progress a wonderful and amazing thing...
The builders of Stonehenge...
"No other circle has massive stones trimmed into neat shapes, like giant building bricks, or lintels perched atop them. The sophisticated engineering and joinery employed at Stonehenge suggest that it was built by people who were skilled in making great structures out of timber"
hillyanne says...
8:19am Thu 14 Mar 13
I own to being rubbish at maths,so go ultra carefully when measuring up etc..But they do it for a living!