Council explains reasons for lane changes on A38
Posted on Thursday 18th October 2018 at 9:07 pm by SH (Editor)Motorists using the A38 northbound between the Aztec West Roundabout and M5 J16 will have noted further changes to the road layout in recent months. The latest alterations were implemented in June 2018, eight months after a £4.2m scheme of “improvements” on the southbound side of the A38 and on the arms of the Aztec West Roundabout itself was deemed “substantially completed” in October 2017.
South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has refused to accept a widely held view that the original multi-million pound scheme actually worsened peak time traffic delays for the majority of road users in the area, claiming that the latest work constituted “mitigation measures” needed to alleviate issues that were outside the scope of the original work.
When pressed to explain what these additional issues were, SGC officers listed them as:
- Inefficiency of the operation of M5 16, leading to exit blocking, the subsequent knock-on effect causing queuing back to and beyond Aztec West Roundabout.
- The completion of Pinchpoint schemes at M5 J16 in 2015 by both SGC and Highways England failed to maximise potential for improvements to the local network.
- Motorists exiting the Aztec West Business Park in the lane meant for Bradley Stoke Way and turning left rather than using the left filter lane. This resulted in these motorists blocking vehicles travelling from Bradley Stoke Way and the A38 south of the roundabout.
- Traffic turning right from Bradley Stoke Way heading for M5 J16 was frequently observed queueing over the boxed junction on the circulatory. This uses up the capacity for A38 northbound, when A38 northbound is on green only a few vehicles make it through the cycle after all the box queueing traffic has cleared.
- Surveys undertaken in November 2017 and February 2018 showed that the average length of time taken to exit the business park was 21 minutes.
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