With the A448 currently closed at a section between Kidderminster and Redditch, a diversion has been set up running around Hagley and the A491 in both directions, adding around 22 miles to an average journey.
However, our reporter James has been on the road to find another diversion route between the two, taking in a route via the A442 towards Droitwich
However, our reporter James has been on the road to find another diversion route between the two, taking in a route via the A442 towards Droitwich
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hello, I'm sitting here on the edge of the A448 in Kidderminster, about to take on the
00:05 road between Kidderminster and Bromsgrove to show the number of diversions and how
00:10 far I'll actually have to go out to find my way on the way to Bromsgrove. The
00:13 reason for this is because starting this week there's a bunch of roadworks taking
00:18 place between Kidderminster via West Hagley, Linear Ash and the A38 due to a
00:25 bunch of works to replace a water pipe. There's 546 yards of pipeline which
00:31 involves the complete closure of the Kidderminster Road on a now stretched
00:33 road at Chattersea Corbett. It means that anyone driving between Kidderminster and
00:37 Bromsgrove on the A448 will apparently have to face around 22 miles worth of
00:41 diversion. This video is going to show you where these diversions go to, how
00:45 long it takes and basically give you all the details of what to expect on the way.
00:50 So come with me and we'll speak at the end.
00:55 Okay here we are heading along the A451, the Kidderminster roundabout.
01:01 Heading with Hoo Road on the right, which should mean that the turn towards
01:05 Bromsgrove should be coming up fairly soon on the roundabout. So we'll have to
01:10 have a look at that, see where we're going from there and then direct
01:14 ourselves in the direction of Bromsgrove. You'll see there, right turn towards
01:20 Bromsgrove, A448. Obviously head towards the Severn Valley Railway, the Kidderminster
01:26 Railway station and Kidderminster Harriers as it is. Let's just get ourselves
01:30 onto the roundabout first of all, get ourselves round and have a look and see
01:34 what the arrangements are for following the road towards
01:39 Bromsgrove.
01:44 As you turn around you'll see no access via A448 for the diversion.
02:01 So let's follow our way up the A448 as it stands, head towards the turn with the
02:10 A449 and let's see where it directs us to.
02:15 Let's get up to where the lights are
02:20 and again you'll see that sign that says road ahead closed in three miles no
02:26 through roads. Let's follow it along to where the closure is and see where it
02:32 directs us from.
02:37 Here's the roundabout that says straight on towards Bromsgrove again says road
02:43 closed in 2.5 miles. Let's follow straight through, there's no access via the
02:47 A448. Let's get down this road, follow it down and see where it diverts us
02:56 from here. Obviously we're heading out of Kidderminster, we're heading onto a
03:00 slightly quicker road so you can see the speed limit kicks up a bit more to 50
03:04 miles an hour so let's follow this road as far down as we can go before it then
03:08 directs us off into different places.
03:12 Although they're saying the road is closed there's still traffic going down
03:18 here so obviously there's people working out where they go from here. We're going
03:21 to head into the village of Stone which is next to Kidderminster.
03:29 Follow the road around and see what diversion signs if any come up.
03:36 About a mile and a half now from where the closure is. Again the signs are very
03:46 clear that do say the road is closed. Just waiting to see what diversions
03:51 actually come in place here to see where we can go, what we can do and where it takes us to.
03:55 Roundabouts take a left towards Starbridge, a right towards Worcester
04:04 or straight on towards Bromsgrove. Let's get to this roundabout and see what
04:08 directions or diversions actually exist at this roundabout because we're not far
04:12 away from where it happens.
04:16 Diversity traffic straight on.
04:20 Up here. Let's see where it goes because it says no through roads. Let's see whether it
04:27 directs me back on myself or does anything to help me decide where to go
04:33 from here. The road up here is closed. Here we go.
04:37 Coming up to signs now that say the road is going to be closed.
04:42 You can see diversity traffic up here. Road closed in 0.5 miles, no through roads.
04:49 So here you go. This is the bit where the road is closed.
05:00 Let's see if it can show us where the diversion is.
05:07 So you can see here this area is obviously closed off on the 448. This whole area is closed.
05:30 So now what we need to do is go back on ourselves and work out whether the
05:35 diversion actually goes to. So see there closed off. Let's turn around. Let's have
05:41 a look and see in what direction we're supposed to be going and then head
05:45 towards Bromsgrove because obviously that road is closed off.
05:58 To the left here. Start following this country lane. This is Kursley Lane heading through the
06:05 448. We're off the 448 now. We're on to a country lane in the
06:11 absolute middle of nowhere. Hits somewhere in the Worcestershire countryside.
06:27 Right, gets the end of this road. We're now going to hit the A442 which should
06:34 take us towards Droitwich to the left. So let's follow the Droitwich road.
06:39 Start working our way further through the countryside on the way into the area.
06:51 Take a left onto Clasica Lane. It says Droitwich seven miles, sorry Bromsgrove seven miles this way.
07:09 We've just gone through the Droitwich area. Let's follow this windy road now
07:14 all the way over. This is Chattersea Corbett. So we are taking a fair whack out.
07:19 You're actually heading onto the 442 towards Droitwich which is, as I recall,
07:24 quite a long way away from where Bromsgrove actually is. Let's follow this
07:30 road up now and let's head on the way towards, hopefully, Bromsgrove.
07:35 Right now we are in deepest darkest Worcestershire heading through country
07:46 lanes but the sign at the turn said Bromsgrove at about seven miles so let's
07:53 follow that route and see what we can do to get there.
07:56 I'm trying to imagine this on a commuter sign. People are commuting from Kidderminster to
08:00 Bromsgrove. Would be an interesting experience let's be honest.
08:05 And at last the first diversion that says this way.
08:15 That road up there is closed. That's towards Patsel Green and Cooksey Green
08:19 so let's follow down here instead.
08:24 We're now approaching the end of this road. Let's see which direction we're
08:36 going to be going into at this point. There should be signposts to say which way
08:40 we're supposed to go. There you go, Bromsgrove to the right and the first prop sign
08:45 that says diversion. I think we've now crossed the worst of it. The closed lane
08:51 is down there so let's get back onto this road and we're back onto
08:55 the 448. So here we go. That is quite a lengthy diversion I would say out of
09:01 Kidderminster towards Bromsgrove.
09:05 But now I think we've passed any of the closed road sections. This is onto the 448 so let's enjoy the ride into the town of Bromsgrove.
09:22 And you can see the signs that definitely say diverted traffic taking you
09:30 towards Bromsgrove. The other side that we're taking towards Kidderminster.
09:36 My sort of main synopsis of this is that, or my main analysis of this, is that
09:43 it's poorly signposted in a lot of ways in that area between Kidderminster and
09:49 Bromsgrove. It's only because I saw a sign that said Bromsgrove to go through country lanes
09:52 I knew to go that way. But someone who doesn't know the area at all may not know
09:57 where they're going.
09:59 [TRAFFIC NOISES]
10:08 And finally, welcome to Bromsgrove. We've reached our journey's end.
10:15 Okay that's the journey done from Kidderminster to Bromsgrove. It took me about
10:21 half an hour to do the journey in total and I'm gonna be honest with you I think
10:25 the actual diversions once you are sort of on the 448 are kind of okay but you're
10:31 not really directed very well heading between the two. It's only if you actually
10:35 know where the certain turns are. It's only because I saw the sign that said Bromsgrove
10:39 heading down the A442 through Droitwich so I actually worked out you had to turn
10:43 that way and then directed back towards the A448. It's not in my opinion very well
10:47 signposted but that's kind of the route that you can take if you want to go
10:51 between Kidderminster and Bromsgrove over the next 12 weeks. Maybe you'll
10:55 work out another route yourself. Maybe you'll take yourself down towards
10:58 Worcester and up the M5 if you want to do that but that's just the route that
11:02 I've taken. It takes you down a few country lanes but gets you between the A448
11:07 the A442 and some of the other country roads in between. So that's just me, see what you do.
11:12 Let's see what you do.