Officers from Bath and North East Somerset have met with villagers in Kelston to discuss the impact of the closure of the A431 Kelston Road.
At the meeting, local residents were given the opportunity to voice their concerns over the closure of the road after subsidence forced the Council to shut the busy carriageway last month.
During the discussions, a geological contractor told the meeting that the subsidence on the Kelston Road could cost up to £1.5 million to rectify and take a year to complete, making a comparison to other projects across the country.
Around 50 local residents attended the meeting, including Doug Creed, the Parish Chair and Councillors Martin Veal and Geoff Ward.
A Council spokesman said: “The timescale for the road closure remains as at least six months. There is, as yet, no estimated cost for the project.
“The ground is still subsiding. We are awaiting complex test results for us to understand the nature of the problem so that we can plan a solution. Until this has been done there is no possibility of accurately estimating the cost or timescale of implementing a solution.”
“The Council fully appreciates the effect that the landslip is having on people’s daily lives and travel arrangements and officers were keen to meet local people to understand this fully and to share the information available.
“Regrettably there is no easy solution or quick fix because we are dealing with complex geological factors some seven metres underground.
“The ground is still moving and could slip further at any time. It is an extremely dangerous situation. We must wait for the geological test results to fully understand what is happening underground before delivering a solution to the problem.
“Starting any reconstruction work now would recklessly endanger human life and waste public money.”
“Given the circumstances, we are progressing as quickly as is possible and we are considering what temporary arrangements might be put in place using experts in the relevant fields.
“We have secured the services of Skanska to monitor the slippage and recommend permanent solutions and Buro Happold to review that work and identify whether a temporary solution can be found.”
Speaking about some concerns by local residents of a lack of action by the Council, the spokesman added: “In relation to people being on-site, it would be completely irresponsible to have workers meandering around one of the most dangerous locations currently in the UK for the sake of public appearance.
“We are awaiting complex test results following an intense period of activity with drill rigs and other machinery – there is no reason to currently have lots of people on-site.”
Villagers came up with a number of suggestions to tackle the 12 mile diversion they now face, including a newly created footpath around the site, and a temporary road for the use of residents and local businesses.
Concerns have also been raised about general access to the RUH, as well as response times to any emergencies greatly increased by the closure.
