The B4109 between Blunsdon and Highworth remains closed following a burst water main discovered in the early hours of Sunday 4 October, with the closure now expected to run until the end of Wednesday 7 October, assuming nothing else goes wrong, which it has twice already.
The road is shut from the Freke Arms pub back to the junction with Trenchard Road, cutting off the Highworth end and preventing traffic from reaching the Stanton Fitzwarren junction. Local councillor Vijay Manro confirmed the repair timeline in an update to residents, while also noting it was 'an initial estimate and may be subject to change,' a sentence that has itself now become a kind of weather system. Thames Water said all affected customers had their water restored on the day of the burst, though members of the Highworth Online Facebook group reported low pressure overnight, which is the closest rural Wiltshire gets to a disaster movie.
By Monday, residents of Stanton Fitzwarren were already being rerouted via Highworth Road to leave their own village, a journey some described as 'longer than visiting an actual different county.' Engineers remain on site, described by a Thames Water spokesperson as working to 'complete the repairs,' a phrase that is doing an enormous amount of unpaid overtime.
By Tuesday, there were reports of drivers approaching the cones out of pure habit, performing a small three-point turn, and driving away again without complaint, the way you might nod at a neighbour you've accepted will never move his skip.
"I'm not one to gossip," said Brenda Pask, 72, of Old Town, who has lived there since before it was old, "but I hear the Freke Arms has had more passing trade this week than it's had since the Jubilee, on account of everyone stopping to ask the barman if it's open yet. Ron always said a burst main in 1976 took them four hours to sort, a kettle, a spade, and a man called Reg. Four hours, mind, not four days. Though I suppose Reg didn't need an estimate subject to change, Reg just got on with it."
Gary Tench, Area Manager at Tench Paper Solutions in Westlea, said the closure had given him a new appreciation for forecasting. "'Estimate, subject to change,' that's literally our Q4 projections," he said. "I've started saying it to Julie every time she asks when the new toner's arriving. Keeps everyone calm, nobody panics, nobody asks follow up questions. I've actually put it on a little sign above the printer. It's had a real effect on morale, people have just stopped asking me things altogether."
Thames Water has apologised for the inconvenience and thanked residents for their patience, patience being, at this stage, the only resource in Highworth not currently being rationed.
By Wednesday morning, there was said to be a small queue of cars at the barrier simply waiting to see if today was the day, the automotive equivalent of checking a kettle that has already boiled.
A council spokesperson said updates would continue to be shared as they became available, which is to say, whenever Wednesday decides what it actually means.