Bushey Arches traffic as National Rail vehicle stranded
Network Rail has confirmed that one of its vehicles broke down at Bushey Arches, near Bushey Train Station, after a road closure had been installed “for rail purposes” this morning (June 7).
Closing the road was part of the planned work, set to finish early in the morning, but after the vehicle broke down it lasted well into rush-hour.
This caused “heavy traffic”, “madness”, and “complete chaos”, according to motorists. Several drivers described delays of up to 45 minutes.
A Hertfordshire County Council spokesperson said: “There was an overrunning road closure this morning on Bushey Arches.
“Network Rail were due to lift the night closure at 6am, but due to a works vehicle breakdown, they could not clear the carriageway so the closure had to remain in place until the recovery vehicle could attend.
DELAYS UPDATE: #Watford #A411 Waterfields Way. DELAYS (15 min) south into Watford from the M1/A41 on A4008 Stephenson Way. Network Rail are recovering a broken-down vehicle at Bushey Arches, causing congestion locally. #AvoidTheQ pic.twitter.com/9MGzgS7oV9[1][2][3][4]
— HCC Highways (@Herts_Highways) June 7, 2023[5]
“We believe that this was removed and the road opened around 10am this morning.”
Delays were fully clear by around 12pm.
While work to reopen the road was ongoing, a Network Rail spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry to people who have been affected by traffic near Bushey station this morning.
Bushey Arches at 7.45am (Image: Sullivan Buses)
“One of our vehicles has broken down and we are working hard to move it and clear the road as quickly as possible.
“Thank you for your patience whilst we work to fix this and we’re sorry for any delays this disruption has caused.”
One local said the traffic made them late for a school run, while another worried students could have had their GCSE or A-Level exams disrupted.
Bushey Arches later this morning (Image: Neil P)
Separate works by UK Power Networks in Sandy Lane, and by Cadent in Hartspring Lane, are also thought to be contributing to delays.
The “emergency” Cadent works, near the M1, are apparently continuing repairs that went on through the night to make gas mains safe.
The company hopes to finish them today, but they could last until tomorrow.
References
- ^ #Watford (twitter.com)
- ^ #A411 (twitter.com)
- ^ #AvoidTheQ (twitter.com)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/9MGzgS7oV9 (t.co)
- ^ June 7, 2023 (twitter.com)