Residents of Lockeridge woke today to an unusually quiet Monday morning – a main street with no traffic.
The village bridge has been closed for ‘re-decking’, works that will take roughly three months, and will cut the village off from Upper Fyfield and direct access to the A4.
Traffic to and from Lockeridge is being redirected via the Clatford and West Overton junctions, whilst traffic to and from Alton Barnes is being channelled through East Kennet. Foot traffic will be possible as a temporary footbridge will be erected whilst the works take place.
The temporary closure will overcome one of the major issues for the village, that of high traffic volumes, particularly in the morning and late afternoon, combined with excessive speed.
However, there is also a cost. Inconvenience – the only access to the village is via the Clatford or West Overton junctions. As a result there will be much greater traffic volumes on the two narrow minor roads to the East and West. The Lockeridge to Clatford road is notoriously narrow with poor visibility, far too narrow for two cars to pass, let alone for even one articulated lorry to drive through. Buses will stop as normal at the pub, but turn around to go out of the village either via Clatford or West Overton.
Lockeridge’s well-known pub, the ‘Who’d A Thought It’ stands to lose trade as much of its business comes from beyond the village, and the main sign is adjacent to the A4 junction at Fyfield. To demonstrate the local support for the ‘Who’d A’ a ‘Lockeridge ‘Lock-In’ bridge closing party has been arranged for Friday evening (23 January).
