Road used as skatepark after storm damage reopens after three years
A storm-damaged road left so badly buckled it was used as a skatepark has reopened after three years following a £5 million repair project.
A 300ft stretch of the B4069 near Lyneham, Wilts, was left unpassable after Storm Eunice in February 2022 and skaters began to use it as a makeshift ramp. A traffic regulation order was put in place to make it an offence to use the road.
More than 5,500 vehicles a day used the road before a section broke off and slid 82ft downhill during a landslide, later determined to have been caused by the storm.
The repair work, which included constructing a 108m-long retaining wall, was completed on behalf of Wiltshire council.
Alison Bucknell, the councillor who represents the area, said it had been a 'long, slow journey' towards Wednesday's reopening. She added: 'The most important thing is that we can get our lives back to 'normal' as soon as possible.'
She also criticised 'disbelievers' for doubting the road could be fixed.
Ms Bucknell added that some residents had asked for an official opening, but there would be 'no balloons, no fanfare, no drumroll'.
Contractors were expected to work six days a week for 12 hours a day to complete the project, according to Wiltshire council's Nick Holder, who was in charge of overseeing it.
Some residents complained at the time the work could be futile if the land slips again, and insisted that the council should look for alternative routes on more stable ground.
Drainage ditches have been installed for a 'long-term solution to the ground instability', the council said.
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