Outrage as 'atrocious' road in Northampton completely resurfaced for £100k just in time for national cycle race
A busy road in Northampton, described as one of the worst for potholes in the town, has been completely resurfaced for around £100,000.
Derngate was closed to traffic on Sunday, September 1, between Victoria Promenade and St. Giles Street, to allow West Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC) highways partner, Kier, to resurface the road. The resurfacing works were brought forward ahead of the Men’s Tour of Britain cycling race, which took place on Saturday, September 7.
However, prior to the race, Derngate had been plagued by potholes and questionable patchy repairs for many months.
WNC announced that works to fix the street had been expedited because of the cycle race, which drew criticism from many online.
Motorist Susan Barker said: “Way overdue - it’s been a disgrace for months. Pity it took a cycle race coming through the town before it got fixed though it should have been done over a year ago. Very pleased that it is being repaired as it has been atrocious driving along there.”
Sandie Maitland-Hills said: “Perhaps we should tell WNC that there is a big cycling event travelling on every road in Duston and see if we can get the potholes fixed.”
Gary Anderson added: “Not being done just because the road is a mess but because they don't want to be ridiculed by tour officials....think we need to get some more tours around the rest of Northamptonshire.”
Richard Cort said: “Can the race do every road around Kingsthorpe? I have to keep my vehicles road legal; I’d like the roads to be car legal. Disgraceful.”
Responding, Cllr Phil Larratt, in charge of highways at WNC, said: “Like all councils, we face a challenge with roads deteriorating in the cold and wet winter weather and requiring urgent action. As we entered into the warmer and drier months, we have been able to focus on completing the most essential work first, as well as having a full plan of maintenance for the year.
“The surfacing works on Derngate were originally scheduled for 2023; however, they were postponed due to the unforeseen road closure of Bridge Street. This decision was made to minimize inconvenience and impact on the wider road network. Following the warmer weather and the significant progress made to reopen Bridge Street, along with the major road event planned for West Northamptonshire, the essential resurfacing was able to be carried out at Derngate within the anticipated project cost of £100,000."
Earlier this year, WNC published their plans to improve local roads over the next few years as the first tranche of funding from the scrapped HS2 project has been revealed.
Some roads have already been resurfaced as part of the HS2-funded Network North project to make journeys safer, faster, and smoother.
The council has already received £1.357 million from the Department for Transport (DfT) and is set to receive another £1.357 million installment in this financial year to continue the work and deliver improvements.