Daily Express: The ancient engineering marvel that is Hadrian’s Wall stretches 74 miles and is built from millions of tons of stone.
But an attempt to fence off one small section nearly 2,000 years later las proved slightly less awe-inspiring.
The 213ft barrier is still being constructed after three years work – nearly half the time it tok the Romans to complete the entire wall.
Red tape and a series of mishaps, including an armed robbery at the builders’offices and a fire have contributed to a very British farce.
Now, as the 29, 000 barrier – with silhouettes of Roman soldiers – finally nearing completion, it has been branded an expensive ‘shambles’.
Hadrian’s Wall begun in 122Ad, stretches from Wallsend on Tyneside to Cumbria’s Solway Firth. The route runs through what is now Newcastle upon Tyne.
More than three years ago, Newcastle city council proposed fencing off the 213ft stretch in the outlying suburb of Lemington as part of a ‘Hadrian’s Trail’.
But the project stalled when the official in charge took maternity leave and nobody hired a replacement project officer. It was finally handed to a new officer in December 2005 but then there was a fire at the studio of the artist chosen to design the fence.
Builders finally got to work installing the construction last December – but progress was halted again when the armed robbery took place at their offices.
Barry Phillipson, Labour councillor for Lemington, despairs of the work ever being finished. “I don’t know how long it took the Romans to build the Lemington section, but I doubt it was anywhere near to three years- plus it has taken to install this fence,†he said. “It’s a shamblesâ€Â.
But Pauline Allen, of the ruling Liberal Democrat group, said: “The installation is close to completionâ€Â. She admitted there had been a ‘series of delays’, but said they were mostly beyond the council’s control. |