THERE has been an angry response to Bath Council’s decision to put a weight restriction on the A36 Cleveland Bridge which will divert heavy duty traffic through Melksham.
As of Monday 3rd February, Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) will enforce an 18-tonne weight limit restriction on the bridge due to it being ‘under threat structurally’.
As a result, the shift of heavy duty vehicles, heading south from the M4, will use the A350 through Melksham.
To add to the anger, BANES have yet to secure the funding for the associated repair works on the bridge and therefore have not set a date for the work to begin.
Gary Jardine a resident in Beanacre, where people have been fighting the overwhelming traffic on the A350 through the village, said, “I just think this is another problem on top of the restrictions proposed for Bath. The air quality along the A350 route is bad enough already without this additional volume of HGVs.
“Wiltshire Council can’t cope with the potholes either. I have come to the conclusion that Wiltshire Council hasn’t got a clue about traffic volumes because if they did, a Melksham Eastern Bypass would be almost complete by now.
“Another issue is how reliable are these HGVs? We are always hearing about lorries breaking down on the M4. Plus, I was stuck behind a lorry on the A350 just recently, unloading its goods, it was slowing up traffic in both directions. This scenario is only going to happen more frequently with more traffic.”
Westbury Town Council has pledged to fight the proposed diversion and has called upon all councils along the A350 to join them and ‘vigorously oppose’ the plans.
Cllr Bridget Wayman, cabinet member for highways at Wiltshire Council said, “We have been made aware by BANES of these essential works. We understand the concerns of local residents who are worried about the impact this will have on traffic locally and we are awaiting information from BANES on the numbers of vehicles which are likely to be diverted onto A350 while a weight limit is imposed on Cleveland Bridge.”
Melksham Town Council and MP for Melksham, Michelle Donelan, were approached for comment. However, they did not respond before press.
