Riverside Road in Gorleston could finally be made safe.

It’s a road with a history of sinking… one that locals want to avoid if possible.

After years of collapses and closures, Riverside Road in Gorleston may finally be safe thanks to a £1.3 million plan to create a new river wall and flood barriers.

The road, which runs alongside the River Yare, has been subjected to years of erosion and “tidal wash” that have progressively eaten away at its foundations.

Locals claim they frequently avoid the path, calling it as “dangerous” and comparing the collapsing edges to “cliff erosion”.

Erosion of the riverbank has eaten away at the foundations underneath Riverside Road in Gorleston. (Image: Jason Silom)

 

Norfolk County Council has submitted a planning proposal to construct a 140-metre piece of new sheet piling retaining wall along the riverfront.

The current wall that supports the road has deteriorated so badly that a portion of it is regarded beyond economic repair.

According to the idea, the new retaining wall would be built one metre in front of the old one, with the space between the two filled to support the highway above.Plans show a new river wall along Gorleston’s Riverside Road. (Image via Norfolk County Council) The project also comprises a reinforced concrete capping beam, a new parapet fence, expanded drainage, and repairs to previously collapsed sections of road.

A 55-year-old resident along the road stated, “It needs to be made safer.

At times, the road acts as a bottleneck. You do have automobiles flying by, and you have to stop at some places to allow them to pass.”

A sinkhole in Riverside Road in 2021. (Image: Jason Silom)

Riverside Road has been blocked several times throughout the years due to deterioration in the surface.

A one-metre-deep void occurred near Williamson’s Lookout in 2020, followed by a two-foot sinkhole in the same area the following year.

Riverside Road in Gorleston has been closed and collapsed several times owing to erosion over the years. (Image by Jason Silom) A decision on the new wall bid, which is presently being considered by Great Yarmouth Borough Council planners, is due by November 27.

If approved, work on the project is expected to begin in January.

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