Engineers took 20 months to complete the project

Wonder wall's a reliable support act

A hefty engineering project has been completed in the rugged Staffordshire Moorlands to help prevent a key road disappearing under the weight of traffic.

County Council highways engineers have recently finished a long-term project to re-build a natural stone wall and parapet on the A523 near Rushton Spencer above Rudyard Lake.

The wall was increased to provide a pedestrian parapet to help keep them safe.

Hand-crafted traditional local natural stone from the Hollington area was used to ensure the wall fitted in with the picturesque location and didn't look out of place in the beautiful Moorlands.

It was painstaking work taking 20 months to complete with a team of seven working on the project at any one time.

Various designs were looked at but the final option chosen was decided upon so that the road would remain open while the work was completed - reducing inconvenience to the area's road users. And although temporary traffic lights were in place for the duration of the works no major holds up were reported.

Residents were really supportive too, with the adjacent landowners allowing  full access onto land so work could be completed.

Cabinet member for Development Services County Councillor John Wakefield said: "Although the site is in a beautiful picturesque location above Rudyard Lake, it's also really quite exposed which meant our workers were subjected to some tough weather conditions particularly during the extreme cold of the winter months when they kickstarted the work.

"This work was needed because of the much greater weight of modern traffic. Tthe road will be protected from the threat of collapse for years to come ensuring residents in the area can continue to get around, safe in the knowledge they're protected!"

Page Last Modified: 30/01/2007 16:05:01

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