Main Staffordshire road to close for six months
Almost a mile stretch of a busy main road between Rugeley and Stafford is to be closed for six months as part of a £15million project to upgrade water and sewer pipes.
Bus company Arriva has announced major changes to its services as a result of the work on the A513, starting next week.
The road between two villages will be shut to traffic between Brocton Road, Milford, and School Lane, Walton-on-the-Hill, from January11 until July.
Severn Trent Water has been working on sections of the road since September. The company is installing more than 12 miles of water pipes and three miles of new sewers, as well as upgrading two sewage pumping stations.
It follows three months of similar work on a smaller section of the adjacent Tixall Road which is due to finish next week. Temporary traffic lights were set up to keep the traffic flowing.
However the A513 between Milford and Walton-on-the-Hill is so narrow that Severn Trent Water decided to close it to through traffic for safety reasons. Businesses along the route will be able to claim compensation.
Company spokesman Gareth Mead said: "Residents and businesses along the route will be able to gain access but there will be no through traffic.
"The reason is that the road at that stretch is rural and very narrow and it was felt it would be unsafe because of the big machinery being used.
"We have visited the affected businesses and explained the procedure if they wish to claim loss of profits during this period.
"The work has been scheduled to start as soon as the Tixall Road section is finished. We would never have two main roads closed at the same time. We stress that we are putting in brand new pipes and the benefit of this work will benefit local people for decades."
Arriva has published revised routes and timetables for services 2, 3, 825 and X25. The company will also be launching the X25S bus which will provide links to Walton High School for students travelling to and from Brereton, Rugeley, Colwich and Little Haywood.
New timetable leaflets will be available from most local libraries and tourist information centres.
Arriva manager Dan Flanagan said: "We have worked closely with Staffordshire County Council and contractors to ensure we continue to provide a regular and robust service. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers during this lengthy road closure which is clearly beyond our control."
