Ms to be re-routed off Newbury bypass
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About 2,300 lorries face being re-routed through Newbury following the revelation that the A34 bypass needs resurfacingjust 10 months after it was opened.
Some 15% of the 31,000 vehicles using the £100m bypass are trucks and half of these will have to go back on to the A339 (the old A34) as the two carriageways are resurfaced in turn over the next two months.
The Highways Agency has decided to take this remedial action after it became clear that small stones were coming loose from some of the sections, starting fears that the surface
would not last its intended fifespan.
The move has angered West Berkshire Council. It says there will be a "return to all the traffic problems experienced by visitors and residents of the district before the bypass was opened.'' A spokesman for the Freight Transport Association says the bypass has brought "enormous and welcome benefits to truck operators" and be hopes that work will be carried out as quickly as possible.
The British Road Federation says the outcry confirms that the bypass has been a success,