Queens Drive to remain closed after flood deaths as update issued
Liverpool City Council has issued a fresh update over Queens Road where a married couple tragically died last month.
Elaine and Philip Marco, a[1]ged 75 and 77, died after their car drove into a flooded area of Queens Drive on August 26. Emergency Services fought to save their lives[2] but the much-loved former caterers were both pronounced dead at hospital.
Since the tragic incident, a large area of Queens Drive has remained blocked to vehicles and pedestrians as investigations to establish the full facts of what happened continue.
Liverpool Council, which has said it will fully co-operate with the investigation, has now provided an update into the situation with the busy south Liverpool road.
Answering some frequently asked questions, the council explained that Merseyside Police remained in control of the road until Sunday August 27. When the site was no longer required for the police investigation, Highways staff were notified and immediately put plans into place to secure the site and close the road.
The local authority said that a provisional inspection of the condition of the carriageway, footways and structures took place which showed that there had been some significant damage to both the road surface and the footway surface.
The council’s environment arm, Liverpool Street Scene Limited (LSSL), checked the operation of the roadside gullies and found no issues with their operation, and that they were working as designed.
As part of the inspection of the road and footway surface, the council said there were obvious signs that the floodwater had damaged not just the surface layer but had managed to get to the lower layers of the road construction, which was found to be soft, rather than its usual compacted and firm state.
Following this inspection, it was decided to keep the road closed due to the risk of voids beneath the surface which would not be evident as part of a visual inspection.
A spokesperson said: “The closure is to allow the road construction to drain naturally and inspections have and will be undertaken daily to assess damage. To date, only some minor movement of the road and footway surface has been noted.”
It is understood that United Utilities are carrying out a detailed inspection of their drainage infrastructure.
In terms of what happens next, a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order remains in place that gives the council permission to keep the road closed until October 6.
During this period, highways staff will carry out the following work:
- Ascertain the damage below the surface through the digging of holes
- Investigate causation factors leading to the flooding
- Provide time for the underlying layers of the road surface to dry out and assess the potential of voids below the surface due to washout
- Provisionally undertake a design to repair the road and footway surface
- Look at the potential to lift the level of the road beneath the bridges to reduce the potential of flooding in the area
Reader letters: Send us a letter about something you feel strongly about for a chance to[4]
The site will remain securely fenced off, with signage in place to notify people of the alternative route.
While the road is closed, diversions will be in place. The alternative routes are as follows:
For vehicles:
Queens Drive from Allerton Rd:
Left on to Dovedale Road
Right on to Rose Lane
Right on to North Mossley Hill Road
Queens Drive from Sefton Park:
Right on to North Mossley Hill Road
Left on to Rose Lane
Left on to Dovedale
For pedestrians:
Queens Drive from Allerton Rd:
Right on to Dovedale Road
Left on to Penny Lane
Left on to North Mossley Hill Road
Queens Drive from Sefton Park:
Left on to North Mossley Hill Road
Right on to Penny Lane
Right on to Dovedale Road
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References
- ^ Elaine and Philip Marco, a (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Emergency Services fought to save their lives (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Violent gang kingpin ordered gun attacks and kidnappings while he hid abroad (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ Reader letters: (xd.wayin.com)
- ^ Don’t miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)