'Over the top' road closure questioned by inconvenienced residents driving three miles out of their way

Drivers and neighbours in Waltham St Lawrence have questioned the wisdom of closing an ‘important’ stretch of road for repairs beneath the pavement.

Earlier in July, there was a closure on Milley Road at its junction with Scarletts Lane which lasted for several days.

The diversion route shown was along the Twyford Road – adding ‘an additional three miles or so’ and ‘embracing a low headroom bridge,’ noted resident Alan Stanton.

The reroute caused enough inconvenience that local drivers risked creeping around the ‘road closed’ signs and continuing up the street, said Alan.

After doing so, they discovered that the roadworks giving rise to the closure were actually taking place on the pavement, not the road surface itself.

This work was to install a replacement stopcock (valve) relating to the water supply at one of the residential properties, adjacent to the railway bridge.

But Alan is among those who question the wisdom of the road closure for this.

“Why this work should entail full closure of the road is beyond me, he said.

“If you ignore the closure signs, you can in fact drive quite easily past the works, which is of course what all the locals have learned to do.

“Of course, for bus service and larger vehicles, it is a different matter.”

Milley Road is ‘an important link’, he continued, from the centre of Waltham St Lawrence to the A4, as well as a bus route – causing much inconvenience.

Compounding matters, Alan said he had seen ‘no sign of activity on the site for a week’ (speaking on July 5).

Though the road closure was lifted shortly after this conversation, Alan remains sceptical of the necessity to close it at all.

“I think that closing Milley Road for the [length of] time it was, and the inconvenience caused, was somewhat over the top, looking at the work,” he said.

“My job entailed health and safety, and I fully appreciate the need to adequately protect the workforce – but I feel that could have been achieved by temporary traffic lights.   

“I am still left with the questions as to what role the local authority plays in road closures and who, if anyone, monitors them and their effect.”

Road closures on the public highway of the Borough are announced and facilitated by the council, following a request from whichever company wishes to conduct the work – in this case, South East Water.

Based on a conversation with a Royal Borough spokesperson, the Advertiser understands that RBWM does not dictate the parameters of road closures. Rather, the company proposing the works determines this based on its own assessment.

From other sources, it seems councils can refuse or modify a road closure if the impact is considered too great or better alternatives exist – which did not happen this time.

Responding to a request for comment, South East Water's regional network manager, Paul Mann said:

“We’re sorry for the disruption to customers and commuters in the Maidenhead area due to the road works in Milley Lane. 

“Due to the width of the road, it was safer for the public and our staff to close [it].

“When carrying out roadworks, we will always work with the local authorities to ensure it is done in the least disruptive but safest way possible and we thank the residents for their patience while we completed our works.”