Eight-week road closure for resurfacing

THE B1040 between Ramsey and Ramsey St Mary s will be closed to through-traffic for the next eight weeks while engineers use an environmentally-friendly technique to resurface it. The three-kilometre riverside road, which has not been re-surfaced for arou

THE B1040 between Ramsey and Ramsey St Mary's will be closed to through-traffic for the next eight weeks while engineers use an environmentally-friendly technique to resurface it.

The three-kilometre riverside road, which has not been re-surfaced for around 15 years, has become badly worn, Cambridgeshire County Council said.

The innovative process, which has never previously been used in Huntingdonshire, uses the existing road material, which is broken up and remixed to give a strong base. This is then covered by new surfacing giving the road a new lease of life.

The process reduces the number of deliveries to the site, and reusing material significantly reduces the environmental impact of the road reconstruction, the council said.

"This means the project will have a lower carbon footprint as existing material will be reused, therefore making it more cost-effective and a much quicker and more efficient process in restoring the road life."

Maintenance manager Richard Kingston said: "The work being done by Cambridgeshire Highways is the quickest way of delivering an environmentally friendly process by restoring the road life.

"It is vital for everyone's safety to close the road after considering the risk of the riverbank."

He said a similar recycling system had been used in the past, but this was the first time material was being remixed on site, rather than being taken away for mixing.

There will be diversions in place diverting traffic away from the B1040 along Ugg Mere Court Road and Ramsey Mereside down to Stocking Fen Road to ensure access into Ramsey.

Access will be maintained for residents during the work, Mr Kingston promised.