Shrewsbury’s Water Lane closed following appearance of cracks
Part of Water Lane in Shrewsbury has been closed over safety fears following the discovery of significant cracks in both the lane and the riverside wall that retains it.
Shropshire Council took the decision to temporarily close the lane in the interest of safety as engineers cannot rule out the possibility of this part of the riverside wall collapsing. Pedestrians are being diverted via New Street and Frankwell.
The council says it is too early to give a meaningful indication of how long the lane will need to remain closed as investigation work will need to be undertaken to confirm the extent of the problem and the wall’s construction details.
Yesterday afternoon, a specialist contractor carried out a diving inspection of the submerged parts of the wall which revealed that floodwater has scoured sizeable holes in the wall below river level.
Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for this work, said:
“It is appreciated that the closure of the lane will cause some inconvenience, and all involved will do all that they reasonably can to keep the closure period to a minimum.”
During the closure of Porthill Bridge, cyclists were being diverted via Water Lane. They are now being diverted via New Road and Frankwell.
