National Highways said it values its relationship with the local community and introduced improvements to reduce vehicle movements to and from the site compound on Copy Lane in Netherton
National Highways said it values its relationship with the local community and introduced improvements to reduce vehicle movements to and from the site compound on Copy Lane in Netherton
Dozens of people have contacted the Liverpool ECHO, frantic, worried and increasingly desperate about the obstructive, noisy and ‘dangerous’ impact of ongoing roadworks at Dunnings Bridge Road in Netherton. Elderly people said they can’t sleep at night because of construction works in the early hours, parents are worried about the safety of their children crossings roads filled with HGVs, and motorists are frustrated at long delays and traffic jams.
The roadworks are part of a National Highways (NH) project to deliver cyclist and pedestrian crossing points. NH said it approved the upgrade after completing a feasibility study on replacing the footbridge over the A5036, but said “design requirements [meant] it would not work and was unaffordable.”
The reference to the replacement footbridge relates to an incident in October 2022 when a HGV collided with a bridge over the A5036, leading to its eventual demolition. The expectation was that NH would replace the bridge, but in August of last year, NH announced its decision to shelve plans for a new footbridge, and construct a new pedestrian crossing instead.
Barbara McIntyre, 70 and her husband Vinnie McIntyre, 69, have both lived at the Bootle end of Park Lane since 1993, and understand how important the footbridge over Dunnings Bridge Road was to the local community, Vinnie said: “I also recall National Highways promising they were going to renew the footbridge, but never did.
“I drive a bus for a transport company that takes disabled children to a special school, and we have to go down Dunnings Bridge every morning, every work day. So now, with the roadworks and the diversions, and the traffic, it’s been absolute chaos.
“It’s constantly stop, start, stop, start, with the pedestrian crossing being put in, it’s mayhem, and a lot of people around here are very angry, but also scared the area is an accident waiting to happen.
“When I’m driving in the mornings, I’ve got to turn right onto Park Lane. So as I come up, they’ve got it blocked off. You can go from Park Lane to Park Lane West and Park Lane West to Park Lane, but you can’t turn right to come up Dunnings Bridge, so I have to go up to Switch Island to come back down and get to work.”
Besides the inconvenience and delays to motorists, Barbara raises another concern about the noise and disruption of the ongoing roadworks around Park Lane, and said she has not slept for the last three nights.
Known as Barb to her family and friends, she has produced a number of videos appearing to show construction work going on in the early hours of the morning, including high levels of noise coming from the site.
Barb said: “It’s been horrendous. The workers come on about half seven, to eight o’clock, and then it’s just mayhem, wagons going up and down, the heavy big machinery, you want to hear it.
“My windows were shut, and you can still hear it dead loud. I can’t sleep, even when I go in the back room, but then I can’t sleep in there either because you can still hear it at the back.”
Barb said she is awaiting a major operation, and has been told to get plenty of rest, but the noise and disturbance is getting her down: “This work is going on from 7pm at night to 5.30am in the morning, and we’re really suffering here with all this now.
“Besides the roadworks, the big problem is the noise and danger of the big wagons going around the residential roads. They’re blocking the roads off.
“We’re right by a school and kids can’t get across, because these lorries are stuck there, it’s dangerous. They block the roads off as kids are trying to cross.
“I’m feeling drained, absolutely drained. I was crying this afternoon, I’m that tired. I’m waiting to go to hospital to have a knee replacement, and they’ve said to me to try and keep myself fit now, but I’m just going down.”
Vinnie also drew attention to HGVs driving up and down residential roads, causing distress to many in the neighbourhood, and said the signage available to HGV drivers is exacerbating the problems: “Even as you come off Switch Island, there’s big like electronic signs saying, ‘Due to difficulties here, please find alternative route’, so that’s what they’re doing.”
The issue of HGVs using the residential roads in and around Dunnings Bridge Road, was reported by the ECHO in December last year, when people around Netherton Green said the surge in HGVs on their roads had resulted in a cat being killed, local landmarks being damaged, and created an overwhelming sense of threat and danger running through the community.
Local resident Margie Duff said at the time: “National Highways promised us the works wouldn’t impact us, but that has not proven to be the case, because now we’re all very worried about the safety of our roads, and with traffic building up, there’s more and more delays, noise, dust, and it’s just atrocious.”
According to numerous accounts seen by the ECHO, HGVs have been sighted travelling up and down residential roads around Netherton and Bootle. One person told us that HGVs are ignoring the posted diversion routes and using roads less suitable for their carriages, but potentially quicker than navigating the construction works on the A5036.
The ECHO contacted NH about the reported impacts of roadworks in Netherton, in particular HGVs seemingly diverting their routes to avoid the junction around Park Lane. A NH spokesperson told us it was aware of the concerns, but said that none of its own contractors were involved.
Earlier this week, similar issues were published to a local Facebook group, generating hundreds of comments from people concerned by the impact of roadworks on the community.
One person posted: “I have just been walking my [child] to school, St Benedict’s, approx 8.45am. A vehicle was driving alongside us down Copy Lane, some kind of JCB type, with a big machine attached to the back. Then turned into the Galliford Try compound. The driver was on his phone also.
“A car behind became impatient and overtook it, so drove on the wrong side of the road down copy lane. My [child] even recognised how dangerous this all was. […] This needs to stop, our children should be safe walking to school and they are not.”
Another person posted: “The HGV diverted traffic have all been coming down Northern Perimeter Road turning onto Buckley Hill Lane then turning left onto Gorsey Lane then left again down Sterrix Lane all the way to Church Road. All the containers are full along with all the curtain sides.
“These roads are not designed for this extra weight and have all been tearing up the roads, we already have massive issues with pot holes but now these roads look like they have been drilled into.
“One ripped up a massive chunk of tarmac going over the bumps on the road! This has to stop, it’s bloody dangerous now.”
The ECHO contacted National Highways (NH) and communicated people’s ongoing concerns. A NH spokesperson said: “We value our relationship with the local community and, following feedback, improvements were introduced at the end of last year to reduce vehicle movements to and from the site compound on Copy Lane, which has significantly limited the number of vehicles entering and leaving.
“We haven’t received any complaints about the matters raised, nor has the contractor. We are also not working overnight in the area. We encourage people to attend our weekly drop-in sessions or contact us should they have any concerns.”
We also shared photographs of HGVs, trucks and vans travelling down Copy Lane and were told the transit van in one of the photographs is a traffic management contractors’ vehicle, which has permission to use the road and the compound.
The ECHO raised the latest complaints about Park Lane junction to Peter Dowd MP who has been a vocal critic of National Highways refusal to replace the footbridge. Responding to the latest incidents, Mr Dowd told us: “I have heard of the concerns expressed by residents about traffic movements as part of the road works.
“I’ll be in contact with National Highways to find out what they are doing to monitor the management of contractor vehicles and HGVs traffic and what action they intend to take to ensure safety is the top priority.”
The ECHO also approached Sefton Council for comment.
