Last updated at 17:38, Tuesday, 31 July 2012

FEARS have been raised that “useless” roadworks warning signs will cause road chaos.

The main road in and out of Millom, the A5093, is due to close today for repair work.

And Cumbria County Council has come under fire for the signs notifying drivers about the closure at The Hill.

Signs are in place at both ends of the closure, while a 720-metre stretch of the road is resurfaced.

But councillors say the signage could lead to traffic problems because drivers will turn off and not be able to turn around.

Speaking at a meeting of Millom Town Council, Councillor Ray Cole said: “The road signs are only on the perimeter of The Hill, which is useless for anyone coming off the A595.

“The signs should be at the A595 junction to warn people the road is closed.

“We are concerned that people will turn on to the A5093, only to get as far as the road closure and have to go all the way back.”

Cllr Cole added that articulated lorries, in particular, would struggle, should they get all the way to the road closure and need to turn around.

This morning (Tuesday) the county council put up signs at the junction of the A595 and A5093, and throughout Millom, to warn drivers that the road is shut at The Hill.

During the road closure, residents face an eight-mile detour along the A595, through the Whicham Valley, entering and leaving Millom from the Silecroft end.

The road was originally scheduled to be shut for five weeks, but the county council has since said the work should only take a fortnight to complete.

Pedestrians and dismounted cyclists will still be able to pass.

The closure comes just days after the A595 – the key route to the Millom area – was shut for seven days when part of a barn wall collapsed into the road at Grizebeck.

There are already concerns about the effect the A5093 road closure will have on Millom tourism during the next fortnight.

Mark Holroyd, South Copeland tourism development officer, had urged the county council to reconsider the timing of the work to avoid damaging tourist trade at one of the busiest times of the year.

But a Cumbria County Council spokesman said that the roadworks were programmed to take place during the school summer holidays to cause no disruption to school buses and parents on the school run.

First published at 16:21, Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk