A STRETCH of road in Bodmin which has become infamous for its lengthy closures could be set for further roadworks if plans are approved by the council.

Wainhomes South West has said that despite lengthy closures to try and fix a crumbling ‘rumble strip’ on the road it built at Greenvalley Road as part of planning approval for its large housing estate at Borough View.

After the last, lengthy closure led to months of traffic chaos around the town as the reopening date was repeatedly delayed amid the developer blaming the ‘curing time’ required for the surface to set, it has now submitted amended plans to Cornwall Council seeking to change the troublesome rumble strips again.

It is now proposing to remove the strip entirely, which marks out a crossing point on one of the town’s busier roads.

The developer has stated that it believes that further repairs of the existing surface are futile and gave details as to why it believes the issue is related to the fundamental design of the road.

It has also confirmed that despite the previous work being undertaken, the process for the road, which was built as a replacement for Boundary Road on the edge of the town, to become ‘adopted’ by Cornwall Highways to be maintained at the public purse has not yet taken place.

In a letter to Cornwall Council, the developer stated the issues, saying: “The purpose of this NMA is to remove the central area of rumble strips and replace those areas with a standard SFA in black to match the existing tarmac.

“Currently, we have twice laid granite block sets that were fully designed and suitably delivered by both the consultants and the groundworkers, and these works were signed off once delivered.

“Unfortunately, the design is not suitable for the side and downward forces that these sets experience due to their location in a heavily trafficked area. Their position at a point of turning around the traffic island areas means they are constantly subjected to variations in movement.

“Both sides of the road have been re-laid due to failure on two occasions, and we now strongly feel that they will continue to fail in this location.

“Cornwall Highways are also accepting of this proposed approach, as future maintenance responsibility will fall to them once the road is adopted, something they are unlikely to risk given the recurring issues.

“We can confirm that the previous remedial works required closing the Spine Road on two separate occasions, leading to a large number of complaints, and any curing time delays would only compound the disruption if reinstatement were required again.

“It is clear that the issue arises from the positioning of the sets, as the rumble strips to the north and south, constructed to the same detail, have not deteriorated.”

Bodmin Town Council said that it had road safety concerns over the proposal and resolved at a recent meeting of the council’s planning committee to object to the application.

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The plans can be viewed using reference PA26/00586.