South West County Durham
Stanhope Ford staying shut
A HISTORIC river crossing which was shut last month only hours after re-opening for the summer is to stay closed while experts investigate the nearby river bed.
Durham County Council highway engineers believe that unusually high water levels at Stanhope Ford could be caused by a build-up of silt and sediment downstream creating a dam-like effect on the River Wear.
They have asked the Environment Agency to investigate and are seeking a temporary road closure allowing barriers either side of the crossing to stay down for a further 21 days
The ford was closed last October for the first time following a long list of emergencies including dramatic helicopter rescues, caused by drivers ignoring flood conditions and warning signs.
On April 1, the day it reopened, fire and rescue crews were called out after two off-duty soldiers became trapped in their car at the ford after trying to drive across fast flowing water.
The council's acting director of environment Roger Elphick said: " Although the water level in the river is still too high to make a detailed inspection, our engineers are concerned that silt and sediment on the river bed below the ford may be affecting water levels back at the ford itself.
"We have asked the Environment Agency to investigate, and their findings could delay the re-opening even further.
"In the meantime, we are also waiting for the river level to fall so our own engineers can examine the condition of the carriageway across the river."
Police and fire crews have been called out to the ford more than 30 times since 2000, mostly during the winter.
In the summer it is a magnet for visitors who also call at a nearby children's playground and open air swimming pool.
2:57pm Thursday 1st May 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
