RESIDENTS have been left less than impressed after long-awaited repair work to a village road.

Work is said to have been carried out between September 6 and September 17 with road closures put in place.

However, residents say, the repairs were “washed away” in a few hours of rain on Monday (September 27) leaving the road strewn with gravel and stones.

The repair work to the road came after frustrated residents contacted the Journal about the bad state of the road. "An almost immediate response came," said resident Sonia Green . "But still no official notice was given, leaving users of the road mystified as when and how long the road closures would be in place.

She added: “After two weeks of occasional appearances by road engineers with large machinery it appears there are still no proper foundations to reinforce the edges of the road, a major concern of which Hampshire Highways were well aware.

“Posts installed only six inches deep in the gravel were quickly found to be insecure and one was even demolished by a motorist attempting to turn round when the road was still closed.

"Drainage issues also remain unresolved and signage, sand bags, some of which were broken strewing sand everywhere, and warning cones have been left abandoned with no news of when the work will be carried out to a satisfactory standard and completed."

Another resident said: “Our county council/road maintenance folks have clearly not understood the nature of the problem at all, and their patting down of gravel along the sides has just resulted in the same problem of large boulders of gravel washing down, and already the beginnings of gullies along the sides.

"The “repairs“ are breaking down already, and what they have done doesn’t seem to have made any difference to the actual problem – with large volumes of water sweeping down the road and taking everything in their path with it.”

In February this year, residents say, discussions took place to get a permanent fix to the drainage issue, damaged road surface and “gorge-like” shoulders on the road.

A Hampshire County Council spokesperson said: “Work to repair potholes, drainage and damaged verges was undertaken along Woodgreen Road by our Highways during September, as promised. However, it was not possible to repair all the defects during the allotted road closure.

"Staff have been out on site to inspect the road and have confirmed the pothole repairs are satisfactory. Following heavy rain and vehicles driving over them, the verges, which do not form part of the highway and have protected status limiting the materials and type of repair we are able to undertake, are already showing signs of erosion. Any remaining work will be carried out shortly."

The signs and debris have since been removed, says resident Sonia Green.

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