Cambridgeshire: Residents frustrated over Earith bridge road closure

Residents have been growing frustrated over what they claim was an unnecessary road closure in their village.

The A1123 through Earith in Cambridgeshire has been partially shut due to flooding, but locals said there was only minimal water on the road.

Drivers added that some satellite-navigation systems have not registered the closure, leading to diversions.

Cambridgeshire County Council said the road had been closed because there was "water across both lanes".

Hayley Thurston, 49, who lives in the village, said: "It is incredibly inconvenient because when I have to go to places like Cambridge, I am diverted to St Ives, which tends to be a bottleneck. I can spend 40 or 50 minutes sitting in traffic to get through early in the morning.

"With all the rain we have had, this year has definitely been the worst."

Nigel Wilkes, 70, from Needingworth, Cambridgeshire, said with "a bit of common sense", drivers "could easily get through".

"I have seen minimal water on that road, just large puddles really," he said.

"Recently [it was] opened with the addition of temporary traffic lights, so vehicles were passing in single file, there were no issues with that, so why shut it again now?"

Another motorist, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the road "did not seem overly flooded".

"If that's the bit that [Cambridgeshire County Council] is stopping people going through, then, that is a bit ridiculous," he said.

Lindsay Merryweather, 34, said the road signs have been inconsistent.

"The electronic sign is supposed to give depths of flood water when the Earith bridge road is shut, it is closed, yet the display is blank," she said.

The Environment Agency said it liaised with Cambridgeshire County Council when flooding was expected but the decision to close the A1123 road was taken by the council.

"We share flooding data with the [authority] and ultimately the council takes the decision on all road closures," a spokesman said.

"The signs are owned and operated by the county council, if they are not displaying a depth, [the council] will need to investigate why and resolve the issue."

Cambridgeshire County Council said it used CCTV to make "quick decisions about when to close the bridge" and the road was closed because there was "water across both lanes, which was deeper than when the traffic lights were in place".

"Regarding the electronic sign, this is our responsibility, we're aware that it needs to be repaired and this will be done once the water has receded," a spokesman said.

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