SCC Highways Update: Multiple Roadworks in Horley
Surrey CC has a dedicated Streetworks Team who are responsible for the coordination and monitoring of both Utility Companies’ works and Surrey’s own works. They are aware of the nature of the road network in and around Horley and will always seek to mitigate disruption as best they can, by considering the least disruptive timings for works, the best methodology and traffic management and avoiding conflicting works and seeking opportunities for collaboration when possible.
Whilst Utility Companies’ works on the highway can cause disruption, such works are regrettably essential to maintain existing provision of water/gas/power/telecoms/drainage and also to facilitate the completion of new development sites. The high volume of necessary works on the road network across Surrey and the operational, legislative and financial restrictions around scheduling of many of these works, means we’re not always able to combine nor avoid conflicting works on the network as best we’d like. Unfortunately this has been the case recently in the Horley area. With regards to the specific locations made reference to:
Balcombe Rd -Two way lights and the closure of Smallfield Rd and Station Road
In this instance, Southern Gas Networks had to carry out necessary works to relay their gas mains which had damaged a Thames Water sewer mains causing flooding to local residents properties, then Thames Water had to repair their sewer pipe. While reviewing the traffic management arrangements it was decided to close Smallfield Rd and Station Road in an attempt to minimise disruption and negate the need for 4 way temporary traffic signals.
A23 Brighton Road (lane closures)
These works are ongoing Surrey County, Local Enterprise Partnership funded drainage works. They have a permit from the 15th Oct – 29th Dec. While the permit is for lane closures, impact on traffic flow should be minimal, as the lane closures are just moving traffic into a hatched out lane, so they are maintaining the one lane that currently exists.
Victoria Road (one way closure)
These are works for a new connection to a development on Victoria Road by Southern Gas Network (SGN) to originally be undertaken between the 3rd – 7th December. However after starting the works in the footway SGN came across some tank traps in the highway structure, which meant they had to clear the site and re-plan. They currently have a new application to undertake the works between the 14th – 18th January 2019, this will require a full road closure as they will now need large specialist equipment to break through the tank traps.
Meath Green Lane and Lonesome Lane (road closure)
These are required for SES Water works to increase the capacity of the water distribution network to cope with the increased future demand of the new Westvale Park Development. The works have been ongoing since September 2018 until 7th May 2019, allowing SES water to lay over 2.5km of a larger diameter water main, including multiple service connections. The road will be closed until approx. the beginning of March 2019, when they will begin the chlorination and testing of the new main. There will then be temporary traffic signals from April 2019 to allow them to carry out the services and connections required to commission the new mains.
The close proximity of Gatwick airport to Horley also presents our officers with additional challenges, as works likely to create disruption cannot be as easily deferred to school holiday periods, as they are across much of Surrey, given the increase in traffic to and from the airport during the school holidays. The motorway closures and diversions on to local roads, associated with the ongoing Highways England M23 Smart Motorway project (SMP) also requires us to consider scheduling of works in Horley and surrounding areas and we continue to work closely with Highways England’s contractor Kier to ensure the successful scheduling and delivery of both the SMP programme and the works on the Local Road network themselves.
Many of these challenges will remain as we move into 2019, but please be reassured that Surrey CC’s Streetworks Team will continue to endeavour to mitigate the disruption such works can create.
ENDS
