Problem underpasses to be filled in
Three problem underpasses in Brookside will be filled in as part of Telford & Wrekin Council’s Pride in Our Community investment programme to improve local communities.
The 1970s built underpasses located along Brookside Avenue will be stopped off and filled with foam concrete. The embankments to either side of the subways will also be filled and top soiled ready for grass seeding to tie in with the surroundings. New paths linking to existing pedestrian crossings nearby will then be created.
Plans to do away with the underpasses have been welcomed by local residents and police because of safety concerns and issues around increasing levels of anti-social behaviour that take place within them. There were over 100 reported crimes in the underpasses during 2016 alone.
Councillor Arnold England, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Communities, said: “Working with our partners and local communities to create safer, cleaner and more attractive communities is what Pride is all about. Filling in these underpasses will make a real difference and will help deal with concerns raised about safety and general cleanliness.”
Around £45m is being invested by the Council over the next three years to make improvements in neighbourhoods across the borough, including improvements to roads, footpaths, streetlights and green spaces.
Work on the mammoth underpasses starts on 11 September and will take the contractor Fitzgerald’s around 18 weeks to complete. Some 1000 cubic meters of foam concrete and 1200 cubic metres of filler material will be used to complete the job, burying the subways forever.
