Road repairs will end 'danger to lives' on major Longridge road

For more than six months staff at a major Longridge business have faced '˜danger to their lives', just to pop into town and get a sandwich at lunchtime.
The flooded bend on Inglewhite Road outside of Skiddles Longridge base.The flooded bend on Inglewhite Road outside of Skiddles Longridge base.
The flooded bend on Inglewhite Road outside of Skiddles Longridge base.

But now ticket selling company Skiddle has had its prayers - and emails - answered with news that repairs on a flooded road will started shortly.

Director Ben Sebborn has voiced his concerns over the ‘dangerous’ condition of Inglewhite Road outside Skiddle’s base of operations, where acollapsed drain has resulted in the road flooding and deteriorating in quality.

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He said: “I reported this [to Lancashire County Council] in September and October and they sent along a tanker to drain it ,but the next day it rose back up and flooded again.

The flooded bend on Inglewhite Road outside of Skiddles Longridge base.The flooded bend on Inglewhite Road outside of Skiddles Longridge base.
The flooded bend on Inglewhite Road outside of Skiddles Longridge base.

“We have had an on and off thing with them where they kept sending people out to try and fix the problem. This isn’t going away until they sort the drain out.”

Ben explained how the problem has seen traffic crawl around the corner in the road, which has become “really dangerous” with unaware drivers – many of which are tractors and lorries – having to slam on the brakes as they approach.

“We have 40 staff, many of whom walk into Longridge town centre at lunchtime, but this is a danger to their lives where the road is flooded, as well as the damage that’s being done to our property from the flood water,” he added.

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In total over the last six months, Ben logged the issue six times with the county council – who are in charge of maintaining road quality across Lancashire.

The collapsed drain has seen traffic approach the bend with extra caution.The collapsed drain has seen traffic approach the bend with extra caution.
The collapsed drain has seen traffic approach the bend with extra caution.

His calls have now been answered, with repairs to the section of road starting on Monday this week alongside the county’s new ‘jet patching’ machines, which are ready to repair to road surface around the drain some time in the near future.

Rob Wilson, area highway manager for Lancashire County Council, said: “We began making repairs to this drain earlier this week, however this work has been programmed for a number of weeks since the problem was reported as our initial investigations showed that it is not working as it should.

“In the meantime we have attended on a number of occasions to empty the drain and clear surface water.

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“We are currently using machines which can fix around 60 potholes a day to repair some of our most damaged rural roads, and are due to carry out repairs on Inglewhite Road in the coming weeks.”

The repairs follow the county council demonstrating the new machinery west of Longridge in Broughton two weeks ago.