The road surface of the B3174 – Aggregate Industries’ proposed haul road for its Straitgate Farm quarry proposal – can’t cope with the existing traffic, let alone up to another 200 HGVs a day; the Exeter Road is currently closed for resurfacing, and will be for this week and part of next.
The road already has to cope with 7000 or more vehicles a day during weekdays. These vehicles are now having to find an alternative route through the narrow lanes of adjoining villages.
AI’s traffic count on this road has only recently been undertaken. Readers may remember that last year, the previous "count" put forward by AI bore no relation to reality; its consultant could not explain why.
We have previously posted that AI's haulage plans could cause the same road damage as 17 billion car movements, that the heaviest 44-tonne HGVs – the one's that AI would be using – "are up to 160,000 times more damaging to road surfaces than the smallest vehicles", that:
Aggregate Industries is wanting to shift 1.5 million tonnes of as-dug sand and gravel from Straitgate Farm to Uffculme. This equates to some 105,260 HGV movements, which - according to the above - could generate the same road wear and tear as up to 17 billion standard car movements. Has AI factored road repairs into its costings yet?
Of course, for Devon County Council, the irony is that - by adopting a Minerals Plan with a Preferred Area for sand and gravel quarrying that can only be processed 23 miles away - this situation is entirely of its own making; a 2.5 million mile own goal.
