A ‘HIGHLY dangerous’ stretch of road which posed a threat to vehicles due to its poor condition is set for repairs after a local councillor intervened on the matter.
Ward six representative James Daisley first became aware of a damaged section of Spey Road near Inverkip last year and grew concerned that the route’s broken surface could cause damage to cars.
Erosion had caused the tarmac to become uneven and unstable, with sharp edged fissures visible in its surface.
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The SNP politician flagged the issue up to roads bosses when he first spotted it but has now taken further action after noticing a further deterioration in the road’s condition.
After speaking with council officers about the issue, Councillor Daisley says he was able to get planned maintenance for the stretch moved forward to next month, having originally been slated for next year.
He told the Tele: “I think the recent floods we’ve been having has caused it to further deteriorate so after reporting it to the council once more I followed up with an internal conversation to ask if we could get work done on it quickly.
“It’s a stretch of about 50 metres which has deteriorated so badly that that sharp edges have formed along the white lines in the middle of the road which could have, and probably has, caused damage to vehicles’ tyres.
“This is highly dangerous, and the surface erosion is deep enough to potentially cause damage to vehicles and is also causing cars to cross to the other side of the road to avoid, also further heightening the risk of accidents.
“People are avoiding it and driving to the other side of the road, it’s beyond a pothole, it’s a major danger to vehicles.
“I’m very grateful to the support I’ve had from officers who have helped me to get this resolved.
“They’ve decided they’re going to move this from next year’s schedule for repairs mid-March this year, which means it’ll be repaired in a matter of weeks instead of it being over a year.
“We would have had to wait all that time if this intervention wasn’t made, and the case wasn’t put to them.
“A lot of people have also contacted me about the speed that cars and vehicles have been going up and down this road on.
“I would really like to see some sort of traffic calming measure here and that’s something that I’ll be speaking to council officers about.”
The councillor, who represents Inverkip and Wemyss Bay as well as Larkfield, Branchton and Braeside, is now urging other Inverclyde residents concerned about their local roads to get in touch with him.
He said: “I think people in Inverkip and Wemyss Bay often feel they’re forgotten about and that they’re Inverclyde’s forgotten villages, things like this play into that and don’t help.
“It’s up to us as ward councillors down here to keep an eye on this and ensure these things are being addressed quickly.
“Council resources are stretched majorly but there is still a willingness to support, help and prioritise things that need to be prioritised.
“I need to say thank you to council officers for doing that in this case.
“I’ll continue to make sure that any issues and challenges like this are dealt with and I would urge anyone with concerns to contact me directly.
“I’ve had dozens of messages about this issue which shows how important the road network is to people and how important the upkeep of it is.”
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