Sheffield supertram: Warning over 'dangerous' state of roads under city's tram tracks
Crumbling concrete below Sheffield’s tramlines are a ‘danger for road users’ it is claimed, after residents in the South East of the city raised concerns.
Concerns have been raised over the surface on which the steel tram tracks are placed, with the concrete that surrounds them in the road having crumbled at locations all across the network.
Now residents have met with officials to raise concerns over the problems, amid concerns they could endanger cyclists and motorcyclists.
Ian Horner, councillor for Beighton ward, one of the areas served by trams, and chairman of Sheffield Council’s of the South East Local Area Committee, said he visited the concrete trackbed at Hackenthorpe, Birley Moor, White Lane and Manor Top with residents, people from the local MP’s office and officers from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
He said: “The potholes and cracks in the trackbed are a danger to other road users. This affects not just car drivers but those on motorcycles and cyclists.
"It has been 18 months since the Mayoral Combined Authority took over the running of Supertram.
“There have been many road closures to replace the tram rails but it is baffling that the concrete trackbed was not replaced at the same time.
“There is clear cross party support for this issue across the South East. We want to see urgent action taken before a serious accident or fatality takes place. The Mayor must treat this as a priority.”
The tram network was brought back into public control nearly two years ago, after having been run by Stagecoach since 1997. It is now run by the South Yorkshire Metropolitan Combined Authority (SYMCA).
SYMCA have started a £110 million-pound investment programme across the network to improve and modernise the system.
It includes upgrades to trams, track, control systems and power supplies alongside the construction of a new Tram Train station at Magna.
A SYMCA spokesman said: “So far £2.7 million of that funding has been used specifically to repair the concrete track slab in the road, across 4.5km of the network.
“Like all highway surfaces, deterioration of the surface in the winter months does happen more during periods of snow and ice. When that happens, temporary repairs are carried out until the weather improves when more permanent repairs can be made.
“We will be carrying out more significant investment in the Supertram network this year, including to the track slabs, to improve the system for passengers and other road users.”