The "unacceptable" state of a road leading to a County Durham housing estate after several days of work has sparked angry claims that it has been left unsafe, muddy, and difficult to use.
Neville Ridley, 47, claimed the work being done by Northern Powergrid on Low Willington Road, in Willington, is causing more harm than good, as it has created a "trip hazard" due to the large pileup of mud.
Northern Powergrid has been carrying out work on the road to install a new electricity connection since October.
Nearby residents say they felt they had not been properly informed of the plans, and that the work was just causing problems.
Mr Ridley said: "They've made a complete mess of our road. The way it looks now is ridiculous. It's unacceptable.
"It's where everyone parks in these 12 properties. It's one way in, one way out, so people were blocked in and all sorts while they dug up the road, which we weren't even told about."
He said he had expressed his concerns about the issue to Northern Powergrid a week ago, who responded that they would be returning soon to finish the work, but he added that "nobody has been" since.
"They've just chucked a load of plainings down and think that's acceptable," he said.
"They said they would be back, and they haven't, and they said they would bring a roller to just flatten it down. I'm no roadwork expert, but I know you can't just flatten stuff on top of mud."
Northern Powergrid said that, as part of the works, they needed to excavate the road to access underground cables and they laid a layer of hardcore aggregate to "stabilise the road surface".
They added that they returned to compact the surface after an issue was flagged on Monday (November 17).
A spokesperson from Northern Powergrid said: “We recently completed a new electricity connection in the Willington Estate as part of our ongoing commitment to providing our customers with a resilient and reliable power supply.
“We remain committed to keeping the area safe and accessible and will continue to monitor conditions.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding while we deliver these essential improvements.”
Recommended Reading
- Power cut off for almost 2,000 homes near Darlington amid Storm Floris
- 'Unplanned' power cut impacts businesses on busy Durham street
- Urgent road diversion fast-tracked as cliff erosion risk escalates homes risk
Mr Ridley said he and his neighbours are concerned about the road condition, more so now as snow and ice has fallen on the region.
He concluded: "It's a trip hazard if you're walking up and down it, especially in this bad weather. We've had to pick up loads of lumps out of the mud, so they don't damage cars or cause people to fall.
"With the winter coming and the water running down, it's all going to break up and I don't know where we'll go from there."
