Thorpe Road to be closed well into the new year

Severn Trent needs more time to make repairs in Thorpe Road

Traffic chaos has ensued in the area since the road was initially closed in the early hours of Thursday with drivers delayed on school runs and travelling to work at a time when water board roadworks on nearby Saxby Road were also preventing vehicles using that route.

Leicestershire County Council Highways has now agreed a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order closure extension on Thorpe Road, approximately 100 metres from the Norman Way junction, for a further four weeks to January 16 net year.

Severn Trent say major repairs are needed to address damage caused by a collapsed sewer which is compromising the safety of the road structure.

Drivers have taken to social media in their droves to complain about the lack of traffic control in the Thorpe Road area as a result of the closure, particularly with Brownlow Primary School, which is attended by hundreds of pupils, being in the proximity.

And former ward borough councillor for that part of town, Matthew O’Callaghan, says the county council highways department should have been more proactive.

Mr O’Callaghan told the Melton Times: "Leicestershire County Council completely abnegated all responsibility for traffic management here and abandoned the poor motorist to their own devices.

“They should have rapidly introduced a one-way system in these narrow streets normally lined with parked cars.

“They should have also coordinated with the local police to help manage the traffic especially during the peak times of school opening and closing.

“If there’s an accident blocking a road the police are normally there to guide traffic – why not here?

“It took me half an hour to travel a few yards and the additional car pollution must have been significant for local residents and the kids at one of the county’s largest schools.”

For their part, County Hall say it has been liaising closely with Severn Trent and ‘is actively encouraging them to communicate with residents and other stakeholders to keep them informed of the progress of the works’.

Saxby Road has now been reopened but more repairs will be needed there in the new year.