People held ‘hostage’ by roadworks to hold freedom party
Residents facing another two weeks of nighttime roadworks which have made them “hostages in their own homes”[1] are to host a party celebrating the completion of works on Secunda Way. To mark the moment of freedom, people in Hempsted are being invited to leave their homes and take part in their own Oktoberfest.
Essential road resurfacing on the 1.1 mile stretch of the A430 between the Hempsted Lane Roundabout and the Netheridge Swing Bridge has been taking place since August 21, closing the main Gloucester[2] through route overnight between the hours of 7am and 7pm. A six mile diversion that takes drivers all the way up to Metz Way and down to Podsmead will be in place until the roadworks end on September 12.
After their first week of restricted nighttime movements, residents in the area are banding together for an Oktoberfest beer and gin evening when the roadworks come to an end, dubbed “Hempsted’s very own End of Roadworks Party.” With 1l stein glasses of beer and bratwurst, the area’s residents will be celebrating with an old-fashioned knees up.
People living in the area have got plenty of reason to be fed up with roadworks-related restrictions, with lane-widening improvements to the A430 Secunda Way causing more than a year of various closures[4] and traffic light queues for residents just trying to move around Hempsted. The ceremony to mark the end of this period of roadworks was followed five days later by the beginning of the resurfacing work.
Diversion route for A430 Secunda Way closure (Image: Gloucestershire County Council)
The work to resurface 1.1 miles of road will take around 2,700 tonnes of material and is part of Gloucestershire County Council’s[5] “summer of resurfacing”, a cornerstone of the council’s £100m commitment to improving the county’s ailing road infrastructure.
David Bucknell, who is helping to organise the Oktoberfest celebration, said previously: “We are now faced with over three weeks of Secunda Way being closed each night. With little or no provision for 4,000 residents who will be made hostages in their own homes by highways.”
Tickets for the Oktoberfest and gin evening are to go on sale this weekend, and will be hosted on the Friday before the roadworks end (September 6) at Gordon League Rugby Club. Each £20 tickets gets a free stein and a bratwurst, with any profits going to the rugby club, the Hempset Residents Association, and charity.
The event description reads: “Dressing up is actively encouraged with a prize for the best.
“This is an initiative by the community, for the community, with the view that we hold something similar once a quarter. Come along and support your community and have a right royal time whilst doing it.”
References
- ^ “hostages in their own homes” (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Gloucester (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ New future of old Gloucester B&M in city centre as plans submitted (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ more than a year of various closures (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Gloucestershire County Council’s (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)