Burleys flyover reopens after crash causes damage and shuts busy Leicester road
One of Leicester's busiest commuter routes was reopened last night – a week after it was damaged by a crashed car.
Burleys flyover was partially closed last Wednesday when a car hit a safety barrier.
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Finished: Workmen complete barrier repairs on Burleys Way flyover in the city centre
There had been lengthy delays because the lane for traffic travelling from Burleys Way towards St Matthew's Way was closed, along with a lane of the slip road in the same direction.
City council highway officials yesterday carried out repairs after acquiring lengths of steel tube for the job.
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They had initially hoped to complete the work, costing £10,000, at the weekend but the repairs overran because replacement tubes had to be made to order.
Council traffic manager Andy Thomas said: "The damage to the bridge meant we have had to replace three lengths of 15m tubular steel, which were fastened to a series of anchors to create the safety barrier.
"We don't keep items like this in stock, as all our bridges are different, and they are specialist items which were not available locally.
"The barriers had to be made to order by a firm in Peterborough, and then galvanized by another firm before we could install them.
"The whole process of ordering the replacement parts has been done as an emergency to ensure we got them as quickly as possible.
"We had hoped to get all the parts needed to complete the work over the weekend but this wasn't possible.
"Everything was on site and installed yesterday.
"Our priority is getting the bridge reopened when final inspections showed it was safe to do so."
The metal barriers themselves cost about £5,000 and it has cost about another £5,000 for the delivery and installation works, so we will be looking to claim some of the final costs back from the insurers of the car involved in the accident."
Among the motorists caught up in queues in the area yesterday, was Geoff Quinn, 43, from Groby.
He said: "I saw the picture of the accident in the Mercury and it didn't look like anything serious.
"It caused a hell of a lot problems for drivers, though.
"It took that long to replace a fence I shudder to think how long it would be shut if there was more extensive.
"I really hope the council does get the money back from the driver's insurance."
Driver Paul Howard, 22, from New Parks, Leicester, said: "The ring road struggles to cope with all the traffic under normal conditions.
"Shutting just that one lane on the fly-over tipped it over the edge.
"I wouldn't have imagined it would take as long as it did to repair – but what can you do except sit it out in the jams or just avoid the road entirely."
3 Comments
by Walter981
Thursday, March 07 2013, 10:42PM
“The area around the flyover was gridlocked why were the traffic lights not altered until the flyover reopened? that would have eased congestion.”
by LaPetomane
Thursday, March 07 2013, 10:51AM
“Agreed, there is more behind the Belgrave Road flyover project, someone is getting something out of it or the council are just running it down to save money like other things they want to see the back of. Like many changes and reductions we see, less hospitals, less police, less staff here and there, the only benefit is less cost whilst figureheads, heads of police, councils, NHS etc etc all make promises and corporate goobled**** about efficiency and modernising whilst they pick up their huge salaries. The Belgrave flover takes hundreds if not thousands of cars daily, within a few months you can guarantee the council and sainsburys will get what they want and we'll all be queing in a deadlock to get down Melton Road and across that roundabout to vaughan way, St Matthews way etc. Earlier this week at 2.30pm it took me 45 minutes to get from Fosse Park Asda to Gypsy Lane. We don't live in a major city like London or Birmingham.”
by Hamilton_Paul
Thursday, March 07 2013, 10:27AM
“So one flyover going down causes grid lock and SPS wants to get rid on another at Belgrave! Surely that is going to cause daily grid lock, unless the plan is to get less cars coming into town?
Fewer cars- less footfall- fewer shops.”