A 91-YEAR-OLD motorist was taken to hospital on Monday after a two-car crash on the first day of a six-week shutdown of the main route into Hexham.

Despite concerns raised over it being used as a key diversion route during the closure of Hexham Railway Bridge, traffic using the notorious West Road junction off the A69 ground to a halt after a Fiesta and Mondeo collided at 4.40pm.

Police say the elderly man driving the Fiesta was leaving Hexham to travel east and the Mondeo was travelling west when the crash happened at the junction, which is the subject of a new temporary road layout, including speed restrictions, cones and new signage.

Emergency services were called to the scene and the Fiesta driver was taken to hospital suffering from shock, and the road was left partially blocked until 8.15pm while the vehicles were recovered.

Hexham’s neighbourhood police inspector, Kevin Oates, said local officers had been in touch with the council’s highways department following the crash, after some drivers had commented that sight lines at the junction needed to be improved.

“There was some suggestion that the height of the cones used could be altered to make sure they weren’t restricting the view,” he said.

“I understand that has been done, but I have to say that I’ve used the junction and thought it was very well signed and laid out.

“With the removal of the traffic lights at the bottom of Priestpopple we’ve gone from gridlock in the town centre to free movement of traffic.”

It proved to be a chaotic end to a much-anticipated day which had otherwise passed without incident, despite fears it would signal the beginning of weeks of traffic chaos in the town.

Instead, reports from Corbridge and Riding Mill suggest villagers there are bearing the brunt.

Residents in Corbridge say they are living in an almost permanent traffic jam, with many motorists choosing to use the village as a route to and from the A69.

Long-serving parish councillor, David Walton, said: “Hill Street has been regularly gridlocked with traffic having to give way at the Princes Street junction.

“At peak times it’s been particularly hectic.”

Queues of traffic have also become an everyday occurrence along the road past the village cemetery, while the car park on the south side of the bridge has been jam-packed with commuters parking their cars in favour of using the train to finish their journey to Hexham.

Narrow footpaths in Riding Mill meant the installation of the temporary pedestrian crossing was delayed until 10.30am on Monday morning, leaving youngsters on their way to school to tackle the increase in traffic using the A695 on their own.

Mayor of Hexham, Coun. Trevor Cessford, said: “The last few days have shown that the congestion that was expected in Hexham has not proven to be as bad as first thought. However, that was just one of the issues that are a concern to the town.”

A reduction in footfall has already been noticeable, leaving some businesses concerned that the bridge closure, required while Network Rail carries out essential maintenance work, has made Hexham a no-go area.

Alan Phillipson at the town’s Heart of Northumberland pub said if the decline in trade continued, he expected the business to be down around £1,000 each week.

“Road works on Haugh Lane, for example, were done in January. But we’re now dealing with the closure of a major route at the height of the summer when we’ve just spent £5,000 on improving our beer garden,” he said.

“People who would normally come to Hexham are just avoiding it and going elsewhere.”

Similarly, Greg Bureau, of Hexham’s Bouchon Bistrot, described the situation as “dire”.

“The car parks are dead and we’ve really seen a drop in passing trade.

“It’s ok for the locals who know their way around the town, but the tourists who don’t are just not going to bother.”

Stewart Murray, driver and assistant at car part supplier, A.V. Taylor Ltd, based at the Tyne Mills Industrial Estate on the north side of the bridge said footfall had halved since Monday.