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Bypass closed due to flooding

By Lisa Reeves - Saturday, 5th February, 2011 - 12 comments

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At the time of writing, 5pm on Saturday 5th February, the new A34 Alderley Edge Bypass is currently closed due to flooding.

The new three mile route was built at a cost of £52m and officially opened by George Osborne in November.

To reduce the environmental impact, the new road has been constructed in a cutting. It was recognised that this had the potential to cause flooding, due to the area's high water table, so to overcome this the team designed a slurry cut-off wall as an impermeable barrier. The scheme also includes 20km of drainage and two pumping stations. One has been installed at Brook Lane, to take water off the carriageway, and another has been built in Nether Alderley.

However, the first real test from heavy rain suggests these measures haven't been as successful as they would have hoped.

Due to persistently heavy rain, which started during the night and has continued all day, there is a lot of surface water around and many local roads are in a bad condition. As far as we are aware though all other local roads have remained open.

Described by George Osborne as "a really impressive project" the new bypass won the prestigious Builder & Engineer Civil/Highway Project of the Year award at the Builder & Engineer Awards 2010 and was also named North West Transportation Project of the Year 2010 at the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation Awards earlier that year.

According to our weather forecast the heavy rain will continue for the next couple of days so the bypass could remain closed for some time.

We will keep you informed when it reopens but if you hear before us then please do add a comment below.

12 Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Vin Sumner Saturday, 5th Feb, 2011 5:40 pm
Well thats not very impressive ; it has been known to rain in Alderley Edge before.

Was probably wrong sort of rain; the sort that has water in it.
Mark Russell Saturday, 5th Feb, 2011 5:53 pm
So will all the awards will given back in shame? Not very good if we have to shut a road that costs £52 million every time it rains! Whats next, a brand new council swimming pool that shuts when the sun shines due to evaporation?

Martin Reeves Saturday, 5th Feb, 2011 6:28 pm
This afternoon I spent 20 minutes sat in traffic on the A34 leading up to the Harden Park roundabout. Once I managed to turn left towards Alderley it took me over 10 minutes to get as far as the Merlin before I decided to turn around and take the scenic route around the Hough. Hopefully they will get the bypass re-opened quickly otherwise the extra traffic caused by the closure of the bypass combined with the United Utilities works going on opposite Panacea will cause bedlam come rush hour on Monday.
Lisa Reeves Saturday, 5th Feb, 2011 6:55 pm
Great news the bypass has now been re-opened.
Dominic Brown Sunday, 6th Feb, 2011 8:07 pm
Just shows what a mistake it was rushing this thing to be opened, wonder how long it will be before the road actually breaks up?
Craig Wilson Sunday, 6th Feb, 2011 10:49 pm
Dominic,

When did they rush the job? They finished it early, most contractors would have finished it early, as conditions were lucky at every stage of construction, and they were very organised.

Obviously the flooding will be looked at and sorted out, so a few floods will not exactly mean the road will fall to bits.
Dominic Brown Sunday, 6th Feb, 2011 11:04 pm
I've been told on good authority the deadline was brought forward due to certain people only being able to attend the opening at a certain time.
Fenton Simpson Monday, 7th Feb, 2011 11:35 am
They clearly have not finished as the path ways are still being laid and the traffic lights are still not working.
Jerry Dixon Monday, 7th Feb, 2011 11:56 am
Many will recall that there was regular flooding on the Wilmslow bypass under the railway. It took some considerable time before that was resolved
Mike Norbury Monday, 7th Feb, 2011 1:59 pm
I must say I'm not at all surprised that the bypass was closed on Saturday for a while. We went from Alderley Edge to Scholar Green at 7.30 am and in places the old A34 was not able to cope with the volume of the torrential rain with deep standing water across both sides of the roadway. How long has the original A34 been in place? and that still couldn't cope! So a flood on a new roadway and drain system is not too surprising. If 12 months down the line it's still flooding then there is a problem. Must say I really miss the tract of open countryside I've known from childhood that it has its swallowed up. Oh well that's progress alas.
Kelvin Briggs Tuesday, 8th Feb, 2011 7:38 am
Mike, I miss the open tract of country too. I look out of my window every morning and see the tops of trucks instead of trees and Englands green pleasant land. I struggle with the suggestion that the project is finished. A walk up Soss Moss Lane to the yet to be completed Welsh Row may be an eye opener for those giving out awards and plaudits for the project. Alas, not much progress.
Chris Templar Wednesday, 9th Feb, 2011 12:08 am
I can't believe what I have just read! This wonderful, highly acclaimed road flooding at the first heavy downpour? Come on engineers, this is 2011 in Britain - surely this possibility could have been catered for in a more efficient manner.

But then I still can't understand why a north bound entrance slip road off, and a south bound exit slip road onto, the A535 (now very quietly downgraded to B road status I noticed the other day) near the cemetery could not have been incorporated in the construction. There is plenty of room for them. Chelford residents still encounter the Ryleys Lane traffic and the queue onto the A34 near the station in the morning, so the new road doesn't benefit us unless we go up to Bollington Lane, or through the lanes to the Knutsford road. I still await an answer from Cheshire East to this same query posed in November.

Also, the groundworks along the road are still uncompleted, not helped by the fact that some clown in an HGV has driven up the kerb near the Harden Park roundabout and completely ruined a stretch of the new verge. Is there any chance that will be sorted out?

Finally, I can understand the comments made by other people about the long stretches of high wooden fencing - why was that necessary? They are quite unsightly and blot out not unattractive views.

I must finish on a positive note - it is a pleasant enough road to drive along and certainly helps Alderley Edge village which is the prime reason for its existence.
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