HAMPSHIRE civic chiefs are reconsidering the use of the Great Weir at Alresford as a lorry route.

The county council said it was also looking at introducing a weight limit to reduce the impact of heavy vehicles on the medieval dam.

Last week the B3046 was closed at short notice after worrying cracks appeared in the surface. It has since reopened to single file traffic after engineers said the structure was safe.

Radical changes to traffic controls in Alresford would be greeted with widespread relief in the town which is badly affected by an increase in heavy lorry use

Tony Chambers, pictured, the owner of the Great Weir, called on the county council to stop using it as a designated lorry route.

Mr Chambers said the thundering of scores of vehicles on the B3046 was weakening the medieval structure, of what is known to be one of the oldest in England, made only of chalk and wooden faggots.

Mr Chambers, of The Soke, Alresford, said: "What is the county council doing allowing trucks to use it?

"It is a designated lorry route but the dam was never built for 44-tonne lorries."

The county council partially reopened the road on Tuesday and installed lights to control single lane traffic.

The closure had re-awakened fears that the dam could break, unleashing millions of gallons or water and mud onto nearby homes.

The Daily Echo understands that the engineers who inspected the dam on Friday and Monday have said there is no immediate threat of a collapse.

The engineers blame the cracking on three factors: weight and vibration from passing lorries; the wet weather and the steep bank on one side of the dam when the watercress beds were created in the Second World War.

Mr Chambers is locked in dispute with the county council over who should maintain the dam. The council says it is his liability. Mr Chambers claims that as the sole beneficiary the county, as highways authority, should pay.

In 1999 the Daily Echo revealed that the county council knew the dam was potentially unsafe and lives are endangered.

A council spokesman said: "Consideration is being given to those issues (lorry routing and weight limits). No decisions have been taken, we are awaiting reports and assessments.

"The one-way across the dam will continue until we have the correct solution.

City councillor Rodney Sabine, who represents Alresford, was pleased the lorry route and weighting were being reconsidered.

He said: "If it happens, that would be excellent news. We have asked for that for years."