Boscawen Street and Lemon Street closures start in Truro today

Barriers went up in Truro city centre this morning, and they’re staying there for the best part of two months. If your usual route into town runs along Boscawen Street or Lower Lemon Street, today is the day everything changes.

Why the streets are being dug up

The work is repairs to the granite setts on Boscawen Street and the granite paving on Lower Lemon Street, part of an ongoing programme of improvements that’s now reaching areas that haven’t been repaired before. City centre events, busy trading periods and the specialist nature of the work mean there’s only a limited window each year when it can be done, so it’s being delivered in phases to keep disruption down while keeping Truro’s historic streets safe and properly maintained. The aim is to have it finished before the Remembrance Sunday parade and the events that lead into Christmas.

What’s happening on Boscawen Street

Granite setts are being lifted, cleaned and relaid in six locations along the street where repairs are needed.

What’s happening on Lower Lemon Street

Granite paving is being repaired outside Mannings Hotel, Michael Spiers and on the opposite side of the road. The old paving comes up, the foundation underneath is rebuilt where it needs it, and the granite goes back down to create a safer, more durable surface.

How the diversions work

Traffic management will be in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week, right through until each job is finished, partly because the materials need time to cure properly. Boscawen Street and Lower Lemon Street won’t necessarily be shut in exactly the same way at the same time. Signs go up at the major junctions ahead of each closure, and the routes are colour-coded: red for the closure itself, blue for the diversion, orange for access-only. Barrier systems keep pedestrians safely away from the works, and businesses along both streets stay open throughout.

Buses and emergency services

Bus companies and the emergency services have been told about the closures and will make their own alternative arrangements. For live diversion updates, check Transport for Cornwall.

Where to check, and who to contact

For up-to-date roadworks, closures and diversions across the wider network, one.network is the tool Cormac points people to. To see what else is planned locally, there’s a programming page for Cornwall on Cormac’s site. Questions about the scheme itself can go to [email protected], and any road, highway or footway issue can be reported to Cornwall Council directly. Anything that’s a genuine threat to public safety should go to the 24-hour line on 0300 1234 222.

Truro City Council has been quick to point out that the works are Cormac’s and Cornwall Council’s doing, not its own. As its Facebook post put it, “Our Great Little City and our businesses remain open throughout the works.”