Later this month we reach the 1st Anniversary of the Gaston Lane Closure.
We won't be celebrating this event, as the road was supposed to be reopened at the end of Summer 2024, but plans seem to be at a standstill at the moment with no activity at the site and no news of a brand new bridge to replace the current Sheepwash Bridge, which was an apparently deemed an essential requirement to reopen the Lane.
In a response to an enquiry from Farringdon Parish Council Chair, Denise Maughan in May last year, Mr Nick Adams King, Head of Hampshire Universal Services, indicated that . .
" . .The road will remain closed until the culvert is fully replaced. Unfortunately, the estimated completion will not be known until the box unit / culvert manufacturer provides estimated delivery dates.
Current thinking is that the road will re-open towards the end of summer” (2024) . . ."
There have been constant replies throughout 2024 including an apparently pointless application to environmental services,
" . . to ensure that a higher potential flow rate from larger culvert diameter would be acceptable . . "
As water from heavy rainfall overflows Sheepwash Bridge and finds it way downstream anyway, which it has been doing for years, there seems little point in erecting a pipe bridge with insufficient diameter to prevent water flowing over the road in all but the most extreme conditions
Now coming up to twelve months of closure, there is apparently still no date for delivery of the prefabricated bridge sections and, it is not even clear if an order for the bridge has been place by the relevant Hampshire Count Council department.
In a reply to the latest request for information from Parish Council Chair Denise the response from the Group Engineer is as follows:
I do understand your frustrations and I apologise for the delays.
Unfortunately, the design of a replacement structure, which in this case also includes approach walls to retain the highway, to the appropriate standards, and with the correct liaison, investigations and agreements/approvals does take time.
We currently have an extremely high workload and limited capacity within the Structures team, but I can assure you the design has been ongoing and is currently being worked on and finalised.
I can also confirm that the replacement is fully funded and will take place as soon as practicable, once we have ironed out the remaining details. The designers have been discussing details with the contractor regarding buildability and after consultation with our Road Safety team are looking at the installation of kerbing to keep vehicles central as they cross the culvert to avoid a repeat of the previous damage. I will liaise with them regarding the overall width of the finished carriageway.
At this point I am afraid I cannot give a definite date when the works will take place but can assure you that the design team will prioritise this and we will endeavour to have the road opened as soon as possible
While inserting kerbs to protect the side rails is a practical idea one assumes the kerbs will allow a 3m vehicle down that lane or else tractors will run into a bit of a problem moving from fields either side of the stream unless they continue to make the long circuit via the via the A31 & Selborne Road or cut through through Farringdon Village.
It seems unlikely, going on current information, that Gaston Lane will be reopened in the very near future but we can only hope the road will be open to traffic before this time in 2026.
