10 September (Part 1) - Bexley’s bridge blunder
I
expect you have seen in the local press the fact that Bexley council has approved
plans to build a second bridge over the railway line in Bexley Road
adjacent to Erith’s fish roundabout. This should alleviate the congestion there and that
caused by the smaller roundabout at the end of Fraser Road, the one that provoked a
petition
against road congestion and rat-running at a council meeting last
November. There is no money to build it so until £6 million or so drops into Bexley
council’s hands the congestion in the area (I have seen the bus terminal area of
Erith locked solid in the late afternoon) will continue.
It is to be fervently hoped that any new bridge is designed in full
co-operation
with the railway authorities. Last time Bexley council planned on tinkering with
railway bridges they and their contractors messed up big time and as a result the dual carriageway
that starts in Woolwich and goes through to the M25 is interrupted by a quarter
of a mile of single carriageway road and a bridge at an awkward angle and still is six years after
the road should have been upgraded. There was a
fatal accident there only four months ago.
The proposed Bexley Road bridge at the fish roundabout is awaiting funding. As
may be seen in the council’s report on the Craymill bridge below, we are
awaiting funding on that too. Don’t get too excited that your journey through
Erith is about to get better any day soon.
