‘Unnecessary’ A1173 diversion will cost Lincolnshire haulier £35,000

A Lincolnshire haulier has blasted officials over roadworks which could cost his firm an extra £35,000 in longer journeys.

The row has erupted after North East Lincolnshire Council said they would be closing a section of the A1173 near Stallingborough for six months while contractors create a new roundabout on the road. This has now been revised by NELC to a one-way traffic flow.

But Alan Broughton, director of local haulage firm Handtrans is furious that trucks travelling towards Grimsby will be forced along a 10-mile diversion or a 1.2 mile diversion if travelling westbound, claiming officials had other options available.

He said the authority should have acquired land adjacent to the current works at the Catch roundabout through a compulsory purchase order as there is already an entrance to the new industrial area or built a temporary road while the roundabout was being constructed to avoid costly diversions.

Instead, Broughton accused officials of penny-pinching and claimed that the diversion will cost his firm an extra £35,000 in fuel and drivers’ wages.

“I’ve costed it out. We’re going to have to cover an extra 170 miles each day which will be crippling given our margins are paper-thin – all because the Council are doing the works on a limited budget,” he said.

“They could have quite easily built a temporary road to keep traffic flowing alongside the section they’re redeveloping but they’ve chosen to take the easy option, leaving it to hauliers to pick up the tab through unnecessarily longer journeys

“Their way of dealing with the whole project has been abysmal,” he concluded.

Broughton has called on officials to discuss compensation.