Bradley Stoke MetroBus build update (Jan ‘16)

News from South Gloucestershire Council, presented at the public drop-in sessions held on 14th January.

Background

The North Fringe to Hengrove MetroBus project consists of nine major (over £1m) contracts. The contract for works along Bradley Stoke Way is being delivered by Alun Griffiths Contractors and is valued at £5.3m.

Aztec West to Patchway Brook Roundabout

The section of work on Bradley Stoke Way between Aztec West and Patchway Brook Roundabout is currently underway and has been the subject of attention from the public and local politicians due to the temporary traffic management arrangements.

A map of this section of the scheme shown above (click to enlarge). Key:

Woodlands Lane crossing
Patchway Brook zebra crossing
Orchard Gate crossing

All traffic management has been approved by the project team and South Gloucestershire Council’s StreetWorks team.

Woodlands Lane closure

A full closure of Woodlands Lane at its junction with Bradley Stoke Way (1) has been in place since August 2015. It was initially scheduled to be reopened in January 2016 but is now not likely to reopen before August 2016.

The closure also affects the associated signalised pedestrian crossing with pedestrians diverted to Orchard Gate (3), approximately 150m to the east.

Work at the junction involves realignment and carriageway widening to accommodate bus priority measures. The primary reasons for the construction delays on Bradley Stoke Way are as follows:

A significant factor is the number of uncharted and abandoned apparatus in this location. A pre-existing road surface, underneath the current verge, houses abandoned drainage pipes, gas pipes and ducting.
Information regarding the gas main indicated that it was much lower in the ground than it actually is. This meant that the apparatus was not programmed to be diverted and the MetroBus design had to be modified accordingly.

Patchway Brook Roundabout zebra crossing closure

The zebra crossing at this location (2) (photo above) has been closed to allow for carriageway widening on the northern side which will allow a north-westbound bus lane to be constructed.

The crossing is expected to be closed until March 2016 with pedestrians directed to use the signalised crossing at Orchard Gate (3), approximately 150m to the west. Some pedestrians are also choosing to cross the other arms of the roundabout.

Mitigating actions

We continue to work with the contractor to reduce programme delays to minimise delays and disruption to the public.

We are exploring the possibility of evening and weekend working although this would be a change to the scheme’s planning conditions.

Once the Patchway Brook Roundabout crossing is reopened in March 2016, the Orchard Gate crossing is due to be closed until August 2016. We are investigating what temporary crossing arrangements can be introduced during this period.

Disturbance inevitable

A spokesperson for MetroBus commented: “A major £200 million investment in new sustainable public transport will, unfortunately, create disturbance for people during the build. The three councils – South Gloucestershire, Bristol and North Somerset, are working closely with the many contractors involved (nine in South Gloucestershire alone) across the 50km works to keep any disturbance as minimal as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

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