The complex operation to fix 'UK's wonkiest road'
After three years and one month, 7,500 tonnes of stone and £5m spent, the road dubbed 'the UK's wonkiest' has been fixed - but why did it take so long to repair?
In February 2022 the B4069 Lyneham Banks in Wiltshire gave way, suffering a landslip after Storm Eunice.
It was closed and slipped even more, causing huge cracks in the surface and leading to it becoming a playground for BMX riders.
About 90 metres of the road was lost. That might not sound like much, but the fix has required some serious engineering - much more than just laying some tarmac.
In fact, the tarmacking and painting only took about a week. But what went before was far more complex, not least because the road was still slowly sliding away.
Wiltshire Council said it had to wait for the land to mostly stop moving before it could do much.
It also had to get a lot of ground investigations done, something the council has said was "absolutely necessary" and means the same problem should not happen again.
The new section of road and its supports has been designed to last around 120 years and took 25,000 work hours.
Contractors Octavius did the work, which the company perhaps understatedly described as "a challenge", starting in July 2024.
"The hillside was still creeping when we commenced work, and such ground conditions demanded some creative solutions," said Chris Hudson, operations director of Octavius' highways business.
Massive excavators and cranes were needed - something made trickier by being in a rural area with limited access to the site.
The repair crews also had extra issues with more wet weather and not wanting to make the slipping worse.
"We came with an initial plan - the access changed that plan several times. We adapted," said Mr Hudson.
More news stories for Wiltshire
Listen to the latest news for Wiltshire
He explained that masses of earth had to be taken away to make the area more stable.
Then a 108m-long huge retaining wall had to be put in place.
Big concrete pillars called bored piles - 120 of them - were put into the ground.
They go down 14 metres. To put that into perspective, most UK homes would not have foundations beyond a couple of metres into the earth.
A large beam was then put on top of those and the slope above and below the road was reshaped with new drainage, using 560m of drainage channels and grates and 1,000 tonnes of stone counterforts.
Altogether for the project, 650 cubic metres of concrete was needed and 2,370 bags of grout.
There have been finishing touches too - 600 new plants now run alongside the road.
The road would usually take around 5,500 vehicles a day, but for three years these have all been diverted through smaller villages.
Locals have said they are thrilled to have it re-open and Wiltshire Council has thanked the community for its patience
Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
UK's wonkiest road reopens after three-year closure
Repairs approved for Wiltshire's 'wonky road'
Residents concerned over B4069 Lyneham Banks repairs
Wiltshire Council
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Why Advance Auto Parts Stock Accelerated Nearly 5% Higher Today
An analyst changed his recommendation on the retailer for the better. That doesn't exactly make him a bull on the company, however. 10 stocks we like better than Advance Auto Parts › An analyst upgrade was the foot on Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) stock's gas pedal on Tuesday. The company's shares motored nearly 5% higher in price as a result, speeding well past the benchmark S&P 500 index's 0.6% increase. The pundit behind the change was Sam Hudson of U.K.-based Redburn Atlantic. He shifted his recommendation to neutral from his previous sell and lifted his Advance price target. This is now $45 per share, well up from Hudson's previous fair value estimation of $28. According to reports, while the analyst remains concerned about the sluggishness of management's efforts to turn around the company's fortunes, it should benefit from improving conditions in the auto parts market. Late last month, an article in The Wall Street Journal indicated that demand was rising for used vehicles, largely because of the sweeping tariffs introduced by the Trump administration. In fact, the article stated, inventory at used car dealerships dropped to levels unseen since the pandemic earlier this decade. All things being equal, higher sales of used cars result in brisker take-up of the components required to keep them running, hence a better environment for parts retailers like Advance. While that's an encouraging development for Advance and its auto retail peers, I'm not sure that would sell me on the company's stock. Retail is tough in any segment, let alone the auto industry, and I don't feel we're in front of a long-tail surge in car sales, used or otherwise. Personally, then, I'd let Advance stock drive on by without purchasing it. Before you buy stock in Advance Auto Parts, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Advance Auto Parts wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $657,385!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $842,015!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 987% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Advance Auto Parts Stock Accelerated Nearly 5% Higher Today was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Boston Globe
23-05-2025
- Boston Globe
If your car is towed in Connecticut, the Connecticut DMV may prevent you from collecting personal belongings
He said he offered to pay $20 but that Whitey's, a Hartford towing company, told him he had to pay the full amount. 'They would not budge, period,' Hudson said. 'So I can't get my work equipment, and you expect me to make money to pay you?' When Hudson couldn't afford to retrieve the car, he said, Whitey's sold it, and he lost his belongings. Whitey's has since closed, and its owner has died. The Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica have Past reporting by CT Mirror and ProPublica showed Some nearby states, like Rhode Island, have no law on the books about getting possessions from towed cars. But in those that do, the list of items owners must be allowed to retrieve is often broader than Connecticut's. Maine allows people to retrieve clothing, car seats, medications and mail. In New York, people can retrieve anything from the vehicle. A bill in the Massachusetts legislature would let its drivers do the same. In an interview last year, Michelle Givens, the Connecticut DMV's assistant legal director, said she couldn't say whether work equipment qualified as essential to health or welfare. 'It's broad,' Givens said. 'I can't answer that and sit here and say, 'Yes, that will qualify.'' DMV Commissioner Tony Guerrera said he thought car owners should file a complaint with the agency if they weren't able to get their belongings out. The complaint process can take weeks, however, which is often longer than the period before a towing company is allowed to sell a car. Advertisement Timothy Vibert, president of the industry association Towing & Recovery Professionals of Connecticut, said people can generally retrieve medicine or tools, but he said that part of the law shouldn't apply if people wait months to get them. He added that when people don't pay the towing fees, it makes towers reluctant to return their belongings. 'If somebody owed you $800 and they called up and said they wanted to get something out of their car,' he asked, 'it's OK for them to waltz down here and take their things and then leave you with an $800 bill?' Other towers say they are more lenient. Sal Sena, owner of Sena Brothers and Cross Country Automotive in Hartford, said if someone has keys to the vehicle or can prove it's theirs, he lets them get stuff out of it regardless if they pay the fees. 'I don't care if you take stuff out, but I just want to make sure you're not putting my ass in a situation where I'm gonna get in trouble,' Sena said. 'You got the key? Then take what you want out of the car because then I can justify it.' Connecticut lawmakers are looking to change the state's towing laws. House Bill 7162, which was voted out of committee in March, would overhaul the law and allow owners to retrieve 'any personal property' from a towed motor vehicle. The bill 'makes a strong effort to identify and correct abusive practices in the towing industry that have had a serious and detrimental effect on motor vehicle owners,' legal aid attorney Rafie Podolsky said in public testimony. Tow company employees and owners have objected to the bill, saying it would make it harder for them to tow vehicles that are parked illegally or unsafely and that towers didn't have enough involvement in crafting the legislation. Advertisement Transportation Committee co-chair Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, said during a March meeting that the importance of the issue hit home for her because of 'the number of folks' who have told her they got towed and weren't allowed to retrieve belongings from their vehicles. 'The people should certainly be made aware of their rights with respect to towed vehicles,' she said. Hudson, who had planned the fishing trip, had to save up to replace his holster, mace and safety equipment for the security job, which he estimated cost him about $1,000. He canceled the fishing trip and said he failed his son 'by breaking a promise.' 'It really, really hurt,' Hudson said. Hudson is one of several people who told the news organizations they lost things they needed for work — tools, chef's knives, even the draft of a movie script. Paul Boudreau, a carpenter and mechanic in Hamden, said he lost his entire carpentry tool set worth more than $1,500 when his Chevrolet Blazer was towed from his apartment complex in April 2021. The vehicle wasn't registered because it couldn't pass an emissions test, and his mechanic was waiting on a part that was hard to get during the supply chain crisis following the COVID-19 lockdown. The apartment complex's management gave him more time to get it registered, he said, so he was surprised when he looked out his window and saw a tow truck hooking up his vehicle. He said a towing company in Watertown, told him it would cost more than $300 to get it back. With his wife recovering from cancer, his carpentry work scarce because of the pandemic and 'not a penny in cash,' Boudreau realized he couldn't afford to retrieve his car. Advertisement Still, he asked multiple times to retrieve his tools and was denied, he told the DMV in a complaint, which included an itemized list of tools. But MyHoopty owner Michael Festa said in an interview, 'At no point did anyone contact us or attempt to come down and retrieve any personal belongings that may have been in the vehicle.' The Connecticut DMV found that MyHoopty committed no violations related to the tow but did not address the items Boudreau said were in the vehicle. 'Anybody we talked to was like, 'There's nothing we can do,'' Boudreau said in an interview. After 18 days, MyHoopty submitted a form to sell the Blazer. The tows at his apartment complex led Boudreau to become a tenant union organizer. He said state legislators always tell him that when it comes to landlords, their 'property is sacred.' 'Why isn't our property sacred? Why isn't our car sacred?' Boudreau asked about tenants. 'Wealthy people's property is always sacred, but poor people's property doesn't mean a thing.' Other drivers lost belongings that held sentimental value — photographs, a sewing project, a prayer card from their father's funeral. When Brandon Joyner's Nissan Maxima was towed from the front of his Bridgeport home in 2017, he lost photos of his mother and aunt that had never been digitized, which he'd traveled with since he got his license as a teenager. He also had shoes, clothing and a car seat for his nieces and nephews in the vehicle, he said. Advertisement The car was towed because Joyner owed motor vehicle taxes on it. After a couple of weeks of saving, he paid the taxes. But when he asked for his car, he said he was told it had been sold. 'Everything was just gone,' he said. It took him months to afford a new vehicle, in part because he was still paying down the old loan from the bank. When he told them he no longer had the vehicle and didn't want to pay on it, it damaged his credit score, making it harder to get a loan for a new car, he said. 'It was hurtful, because there's nothing you can really do,' Joyner said. 'No matter how many people you talk to, you lose things, and it's nobody's fault, nobody cares.'
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Accident: Cell phone distracts driver
May 5—One driver was cited Thursday in a two-vehicle accident in Creston. According to a Creston Police report, at approximately 4:34 p.m. a 2019 Cadillac XT5, driven by Phyllis D. Kimball, 76, of Creston, was southbound on Sumner Avenue waiting to turn east onto Taylor Street when it was hit by a 2005 Ford Escape, driven by Christopher J. Perry, 25, of Creston. The Ford was traveling behind the Escape, also preparing to turn east. Perry told officers he looked down at his cell phone and hit the back of the Cadillac. Perry did not have insurance on the Ford and was issued a citation for failure to provide proof of financial liability. Damage to the vehicles was estimated at $1,500 each. — — — — — No injuries were reported Thursday in a two-vehicle accident in Union County. According to a Union County report, at approximately 2:30 p.m. a 1998 International tractor trailer, driven by Justin R. Cook, 43, of Diagonal, was northbound on Highway 25, turning into 2332 Highway 25. Cook moved into the southbound lane in order to navigate the turn with the long trailer. A 2011 GMC Sierra, driven by Charles R. Lancaster, 38, of Memphis, Nebraska, was traveling behind the semi and thought the semi had changed lanes to allow him to pass. The GMC continued northbound at the same time the semi proceeded to turn and the two vehicles hit each other at the driveway entrance. Damage to the semi was estimated at $10,000 and damage to the GMC was estimated at $15,000. — — — — — No injuries were reported after a parked car was hit Friday in Creston. According to a Creston Police report, at approximately 10:56 p.m. a 2019 Chevrolet Suburban, driven by Barbara A. Hudson, 61, of Kent, was backing out of a spot in a private parking lot at Mills and Elm streets. Hudson believed she was backing directly onto Mills Street and was focused on not hitting the vehicles parked next to her and individuals in the lot. As Hudson was backing out she backed into a 2025 Toyota Camry that was legally parked, adjacent to the curb along Mills Street, facing west. Damage to the Suburban was estimated at $1,500 and damage to the Camry was estimated at $3,000.
