New £100,000 warning signs for flood-prone road

A road in the Fens notorious for flooding is due to receive £100,000 worth of new electronic signs warning drivers of high water levels.

Welney Wash Road, on the Ouse Washes between Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, was flooded for 89 days last year, forcing drivers on a 22-mile (35km) diversion - or risk getting stuck.

Norfolk County Council said the signs could provide up-to-date advice and warnings for drivers wishing to use the route.

Alex Cliff, highway network and digital innovation manager at the council, said: "These new signs will be more conspicuous and will be automatically activated when river levels get too high."

The signs will be monitored by Environment Agency sensors and are due to be installed in the coming weeks.

If successful, the technology could be rolled out on other "problem roads", the council said.

Data gathered from the sensors also aims to inform long-term predictions for if, and when, the road will flood.

Mr Cliff said: "This causeway is an important flood defence system that protects more than 10,000 homes in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, in places like Downham Market, Ely and Littleport.

"Currently, vehicles are still getting stranded when they try to cross it."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said it was also hoped the signs would benefit Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service by reducing the costs of rescuing people.

Scott Norman, Norfolk's deputy chief fire officer, said: "Driving through floodwater is the number one cause of fatalities caused by flooding."

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