HEAVY traffic is to be allowed through a town centre where roads are in danger of collapse at any time.

Councillors refused to introduce an immediate one-way system through Bacup despite warnings that roads could give way under the weight of a loaded bus or heavy lorry.

The dangers were revealed in a countywide survey which showed 206 bridges in danger of collapse. Bacup's roads are culverts of the River Irwell which flows under the town centre from Bacup towards Rawtenstall.

Councillors and officers met county council staff last week and requested urgent action to help Bacup, the only town centre affected by bridge weaknesses.

Three stretches of road around the town centre roundabout will not withstand traffic heavier than a loaded Transit van. Others could buckle under the weight of a fire engine or a loaded bus.

A one-way system has been proposed allowing light traffic through the town centre with another system diverting heavy vehicles along New Line.

But chief engineer Philip Cunliffe told the engineering committee it would be "a few weeks" before new road signs were ready and major users such as bus companies had been consulted. Conservative councillor Jeff Cheetham said it was impossible not to ban heavy traffic from the town centre immediately.

He said: "A fire engine, a loaded bus or a loaded van could go through the road at any moment.

"The one-way system should be implemented tomorrow. If a bus crashed during the course of this meeting, by tomorrow morning emergency steps would have been taken."

But committee chairman Coun Alan Fishwick said rushing in new traffic measures could cause even more hazards.

"It's a question of risk analysis. If we hurriedly implement a traffic management system that doesn't work and sends cars hurtling on to the back streets of Bacup to take short cuts, it could cause far more accidents."

But he acknowledged that the state of the roads was "a disaster" for Bacup and would cause chaos until the bridges were repaired.

Mr Cunliffe added that the county council would introduce temporary traffic measures through its emergency powers in a few weeks' time, and would then apply to make the one-way system permanent until the roads were strengthened.

Coun Cheetham, who attended the meeting with county council staff said: "The county staff could not confirm that they were insured in the event of an accident."

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