Frustrated that Bath & North East Somerset councils in the UK failed to mend a broken stretch of road, a local resident and businessman Mike Watts has taken it upon himself to fix the problem.
He provided an alternate route for those whose commutes were affected by the prolonged closure. Apparently, this bit of the A431, connecting Bath to Bristol, has been unusable since February when it was seriously affected by a landslide.
When officials announced that it was going to stay like this until the end of the year, Watts created a private toll road that allows drivers of vehicles no heavier than 3.5 tons to pass through, if they part with two of their pounds (for cars) or one pound for motorbikes.
Watts, quoted by TheMirror said “There will be some people who will be reluctant to pay the money but it is an option for people if they feel it will save them money in terms of the fuel costs and time.”
Locals are very annoyed that the road is still closed and that it will stay like that for however long it will – apparently, it’s causing serious traffic issues in the nearby town of Kelston.
By Andrei Nedelea