The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Rail bosses have defended themselves against claims people were not properly informed about current crossing closures.
Since last Friday a number of rail crossings, including Spalding’s Park Road and Mill Green in Woolram Wygate, have been fully or part closed while the £280million Great Northern Great Eastern project work is carried out.
The scheme will see track improvements as well as new hi-tech signalling and crossing technology installed to enable more services on the line through Spalding.
Eventually the scheme will take the pressure off the East Coast mainline.
But the closures have left some drivers and residents frustrated as they face delays moving around the town – particularly as some feel they were not properly warned about the work.
One resident said he had spoken to more than 30 of his neighbours in the Woolram Wygate area and none of them had been told about closures.
Another said there had been no communication with residents about the crossing closures or the cancellation of trains between Spalding and Peterborough until August 11.
Pat and Michael Dunne said: “The congestion around town will be bad enough but made even worse by the amount of replacement buses being put in place.”
Gridlock caused by the closures was the main topic of conversation after the Spalding and South Holland Voice highlighted the crossing closures on Facebook.
Jodie Bradshaw, said: “Madness! I’ve already seen one bump and heard a near miss.
“Tough for us locals, especially those like us that live near the tracks.
“I understand that some of the crossings appear to have no work going on as they’re doing remote testing, but it seems daft to completely close one crossing then stick traffic lights on the next!”
Steve Baxter added: “Total chaos Sunday morning. Took over 30 mins to get from Morrisons to Woolram Wygate. Barriers down at crossing, waited nearly 15 mins, no-one about so eventually turned round only to find Park Rd was a long traffic jam.”
And another commented on her concerns for her pregnant daughter if she needed to get to hospital in a hurry.
A spokesman for Network Rail said: “The GNGE team has worked hard to inform the local community about changes to train services and road closures due to the significant amount of work taking place over the next fortnight.
“Across two events – at Gosberton and Spalding – the team spoke to around 400 people; offering advance notice and information about the work.
“The team also distributed leaflets to local councils, placed advance warning signs on the affected roads and advertised in local newspapers.
“Over the course of two weeks, 15 level crossings will be modernised and 15 miles of new signalling will be installed. “
