Act now and call a halt to road menace

Feb 21 2008 By John Rowbotham

CALLS were this week made for a crackdown on clay-laden lorries using a killer road.

The trucks transport red clay, used in brick-making, from Carscallan Quarry, off Carscallan Road between Eddlewood and Quarter.

Angry villagers say slippery red clay from the site regularly coats the surface of the road, making it hazardous for drivers.

Yesterday (Wednesday), Quarter Community Council chairman the Rev. George MacDonald called for the safety issue to be addressed “with some urgency.”

Carscallan Quarry was acquired by Ibstock Scottish Brick two years ago.

Clay from the site goes to the company’s Tannochside factory where 65 staff are employed.

Planning consent for the Carscallan site was first granted in 1985, and comes up for renewal in July next year.

Carscallan Road, between the Quarter turn-off and its junction with Strathaven Road, has a grim accident record.

There have been numerous accidents on the twisting and undulating stretch, many of them unreported because it is only vehicles which are damaged after skidding through hedges etc.

Last October, 18-year-old Larkhall student Fiona Barnes died when her Vauxhall Corsa car skidded on a bend and struck a tree on the road.

The tragedy led to angry calls from Quarter residents for measures to make the road safer.

In November last year, the road closed for a fortnight for £120,000-worth of improvements including chevron signs and cats’ eyes. None addressed the lethal road surface problem.

Ibstock have installed a wheel-wash at the quarry and use a mechanical sweeper which is supposed to keep the road clear of debris from the site.

However, last Thursday the surface of both sides of the road, near to the site, was covered in a red sheen.

Several fed-up Quarter residents last week contacted the Advertiser to complain that the problem had recently become much worse than in previous months.

“This clay-covered road is lethal and nobody seems to give a damn,” said one.

“The road surface is supposed to be black, but today virtu9ally the whole surface from Quarter to Eddlewood was red and very slippery.

“In some weather confitions, the road-brushing actually has the effect of making the surface more like a skid-pan.

“I’m sick of having to face this menace when driving to and from my home. Is the plan to carry out a cull of drivers using this road?”

Another angry villager said: “Not only does the material leave your car covered in red muck but it also makes the surface slippy.”

And the Limekilnburn Road resident added: “People are angry here and unless something is done to tackle the problem, I can see the entrance to that site being blockaded in protest.”

The Rev. MacDonald said: “Clay flies from the back of the lorries and also comes off the vehicles’ underside and wheels.

“There is always a thin layer of this very slippy clay on the road.

“On one occasion, after rain, my car started sliding as I was travelling along the road.”

Mr McDonald said he was just able to keep control of his car, but insisted that the problems on the road remain.

Quarter man Edward McKenna, proprietor of Woodhead Driving School, added: “Carscallan Road is part of the Driving Test route and regularly used by learners undergoing tuition.

“It’s vital that something is done to tackle this problem before there are more accidents.”

A council spokesman said highways staff had been monitoring the road over the past week.

She added: “Ibstock have undertaken to increase the frequency of cleaning of the wheel-wash to reduce the potential for carrying any residual matter out of the site.

“In addition, a road brush is being regularly used on Carscallan Road.

“We will continue to monitor this situation to ensure that Ibstock comply with their obligations.”

Keith Morton, production director of Ibstock, said every lorry leaving the site went through wheel washers.

He claimed that clay-laden lorries were not the only vehicles using the track between the quarry and Carscallan Road.

And he claimed that some complaints about debris on the road had come at times when the quarry was not operating.

Mr Morton added: “Our managers are going to increase (from monthly to fortnightly) the frequency with which our wheel washers are cleaned out.”

He went on to say that company staff intended to increase their “level of vigilance” to ensure that the road-sweeping regime was adequate.”