The Bradley Stoke Journal

The M4 will be closed westbound between junctions 19 and 22 from 10pm tonight (Thursday 12th January), re-opening at 6am on Friday morning.

The overnight westbound closure will be repeated between the same times on Friday (13th January).

The Highways Agency says the published closure times represent a worst case scenario and the period of closure could be shorter, dependent on traffic levels.

Westbound traffic will be directed onto the M32, leaving at junction 1 and along the A4174 (Avon Ring Road) and A38 (Gloucester Road) to junction 16 of the M5 (Aztec West). Onward traffic will then travel south to M5 junction 18, take the Avonmouth link roads and join the M49 to travel in a northerly direction to rejoin the M4 at junction 22.

The eastbound carriageway will be fully closed between the same junctions on Saturday night (14th January), when the diversionary route will operate in the reverse direction.

The closures are part of an £88.6m project to create a ‘managed motorway’ scheme around the M4/M5 interchange, in which speed limits are dynamically controlled and traffic is permitted to use the hard shoulder at peak times.

Work on the M4 is expected to be completed by December 2012 with the M5 portion of the scheme scheduled for completion in spring 2013.

More info: Impact on your journey (Highways Agency)

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Residents of Bradley Stoke who live close to the M4 motorway could be affected by overnight roadworks that are due to start on Monday (9th January).

The Highways Agency says it has sent out letters to properties within 500m of the areas where the night-time work is to take place.

The roadworks are the first step in the implementation of the Agency’s £88.6 million M4/M5 Managed Motorway scheme that will see hard shoulder running introduced at peak times on the M4 (between the top of the M32 and the Almondsbury Interchange) and the M5 (between Cribbs Causeway and the Almondsbury Interchange) from early 2013.

This month’s overnight works, which are expected to run until 23rd January, are necessary for the installation of a temporary safety barrier along the M4 (in both directions). They will involve road planing, re-surfacing and the introduction of narrower running lanes.

The Agency says it will try to complete the noisy road planing operations by 11pm each night, with re-surfacing work continuing thereafter.

Daytime operations during January will include the installation of temporary cable ducting along the affected sections of the M4 and M5 and vegetation clearance on the M5 – in areas where gantries are to be installed or emergency refuge areas created.

Read on for information about the scheme and its local impact »

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A public exhibition in Bradley Stoke later this week will provide more information about a major motorway upgrade scheme that is about to commence on the M4 and M5 near the Almondsbury Interchange.

The £88.6m managed motorway scheme – the first of its kind in the South West – will involve the use of variable mandatory speed limits and use of the hard shoulder as an extra traffic lane to ease congestion.

The scheme will be implemented on the M4 between the top of the M32 and the Almondsbury Interchange and on the M5 between Cribbs Causeway and the Almondsbury Interchange.

Contractor Balfour Beatty  is due to begin mobilisation works next Monday (7th November), which will include the installation of traffic management and site clearance. The hard shoulder will be closed along sections between junction 19 and 20 on the M4 and junctions 15 to 19 on the M5, with three lanes open in both directions. A 50mph speed limit, enforced with average speed safety cameras, will also be in place for the safety of road users and the workforce.

It is expected that construction work will start in full between January and March 2012 (subject to a statutory process being completed), with work due for completion in 2013-14.

The exhibition takes place on Friday 4th November, from 2pm to 8pm, at the Baileys Court Activity Centre, Baileys Court Road [map].

Read more about the scheme and the work involved »

A public exhibition is being held this week to display the latest information about plans to allow vehicles to use the hard shoulder on motorways in the Bradley Stoke area.

Work on the M4/M5 Managed Motorway scheme, announced by Geoff Hoon, Secretary of State for Transport, earlier this year, is due to begin in Spring 2010 and be fully operational in 2012.

The project aims to ease congestion on the busiest parts of Bristol’s motorway network and will see drivers being able to use the hard shoulder as an extra lane during peak hours.

The ‘hard shoulder running’ scheme will be implemented on the M4 between the top of the M32 and the Almondsbury Interchange and on the M5 between Cribbs Causeway and the Almondsbury Interchange.

A similar scheme is already in operation on an eleven mile stretch of the M42 south of Birmingham. The speed limit for all lanes is reduced to 50mph when the hard shoulder is in use, while a red cross on signs over the hard shoulder tells drivers when the lane is closed.

The exhibition will be held on Friday 26th June (10:00 – 16:00) and Saturday 27th June (08:30 – 15.30) at:

Cribbs Business Centre
Hollywood Tower Mansion
Hollywood Lane
Cribbs Causeway
BS10 7TW

Representatives of the Highways Agency and their consultants will be at the exhibition to answer any questions.