Ring Road contraflow extended by seven weeks

Aerial view of repair work being carried out at the Bromley Heath Viaduct.

The highly disruptive contraflow system on the A4174 Ring Road at Bromley Heath which was due to be lifted by 12th March after being in place for 33 weeks will now not be removed until the last weekend in April (seven weeks later than originally planned).

Announcing the news on 5th February, just five weeks before the restrictions were due to be removed, and following numerous recent progress reports which had said the work was “on schedule”, South Gloucestershire Council blamed the delay on “unforeseen difficulties”.

The contraflow is in place to allow essential repairs and strengthening work to be carried out on one of two viaducts which carry the A4174 over the River Frome at this location.

A separate major project to provide a wider shared path and a protective barrier for cyclists and pedestrians using the viaduct is being undertaken at the same time.

The combined cost of both schemes was originally put at £5.9m with the contraflow lasting for 52 weeks, but the council was able to secure £2.8m of additional funding from the West of England Joint Committee allowing the duration to be reduced to 33 weeks. The recently announced delay means that this 19-week saving has now reduced to 12 weeks.

A council spokesperson said:

“We’re now at the stage where the nature of the work which is left to do must all be carried out consecutively and many of the tasks, such as concreting one of the parapets and plinths, waterproofing and resurfacing the new deck are all weather dependent.”

“The original end date of March for the contraflow to be lifted on the A4174 ring road will need to be extended while work is completed and we would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience this will cause. We are continuing to work seven days a week to complete the remaining work as quickly as possible so that the contraflow can be removed by the end of April.”

“Due to the unforeseen issues we found, there will be some cost increases but these will be covered within the contingency budget for the project. No additional funding needs to be found to complete the project.”

More information: Bromley Heath Viaduct (SGC)

This article originally appeared in the March 2018 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on page 11). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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