Flooding on rural road is posing 'an accident risk' (From Malvern Gazette)

Flooding on rural road is posing 'an accident risk'

4:30pm Tuesday 12th February 2013 in News By Sarah Davies

FLOODING on a rural road is an “accident waiting to happen”, a resident fears.

Garth Lowe, of Alfrick, near Malvern, says motorists are being forced to drive on the wrong side of the Old Storridge Road because of water which collects near the Knapp and Papermill reserve.

He claims the matter has been an issue for more than a year and water regularly stretches across the road because drainage pipes under the highway area blocked.

Mr Lowe said he had reported the flooding to Worcestershire County Council’s highways department several times, but nothing had been done to resolve the problem and he described it as an “accident waiting to happen”.

He said: “In wet conditions this pool stays there for hours after the rain has ceased.

“Time and time again this has been reported to the highways department, using their reporting online system, with little or no response, except to stick an occasional gulley sucker in the drains.

“As a local resident of too many years, it is obvious that out of a total of six drains, two work correctly, two bring water onto the road and the rest are blocked somewhere under the road.

“It does no good even to give them a contact number to explain what is the problem, they appear to be too busy even to explain why the continuous problem continues.

“Traffic has to use the wrong side of a bad bend to avoid the flooding, meeting traffic coming the other way.

“This past year has been especially bad, so the highways did put out a temporary flooding sign, which they might as well have made permanent. This has now been removed.”

Jon Fraser, Worcestershire County Council’s highways manager, said the department was aware of the problem of water on the road and officers were due to make an inspection of the drainage system as soon as conditions allow.