South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has been dealt a further body blow to its finances with the news that construction of the North Fringe to Hengrove Package (NFHP) MetroBus scheme is now projected to come in nearly £16m over budget, an increase of £4.6m since the last figures were released in November 2016.

The latest numbers, originating from the MetroBus Project Review Board, are revealed in a report that was due to be considered by SGC’s Cabinet on 10th July.

The estimated total cost of the project, which is jointly funded by central government, SGC and Bristol City Council, is now put at £117.9m, up 15.8% on the original budget of £101.8m.

Because of the way the funding is arranged, with the government contribution being fixed at £51.1m and SGC committed to covering 61 percent of the remainder, SGC’s projected total contribution has now risen to £40.3m, up 32.1% on its original budget of £30.5m.

Reasons given for the latest increase in forecast cost include:

• Additional delays to the completion of Bradley Stoke Way, due to further unforeseen utility diversion work
• Additional earthwork requirements on the Stoke Gifford Transport Link (SGTL) and the Ham Brook Bridge
• Additional delay costs to the SGTL due to interfaces with Network Rail
• Delays in obtaining Highways England approvals for work on the M32
• Delay costs and additional construction costs relating to piling in the city centre
• Increases in project and site management costs due to the longer than expected duration of the project

More: £0.5m will be diverted from council’s revenue underspend »

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By Jim Aitken, community liaison officer at Alun Griffiths Ltd.

Bradley Stoke Way (BSW)

The Alun Griffiths compound at Woodlands Lane has now been cleared. Work on swales and landscaping is ongoing.

A38 south of Aztec West

The new MetroBus stops are now 100 percent complete and all traffic management for our works have been removed, however South Gloucestershire Council is still working in and around the Aztec West area. [See: Aztec West Roundabout A38 Southbound Widening Scheme]

South of Patchway Brook

The bus lane will remain closed to allow for various ongoing traffic management switches so that landscaping and re-profiling works to the swales and verges can be completed, along with turfing and further tree/shrub planting.

An additional catch pit has to be installed on the drainage system near Primrose Bridge where we have tied into the exiting drainage system for pollution control measures.

The reprofiling is due to be completed during July. Once works are complete, all road cones will be removed. Landscaping works will be ongoing throughout.

Great Stoke Roundabout

Earthworks and road excavation are both 95 percent complete and drainage installation has commenced.

There is a large drainage excavation required along the footway between Great Meadow and Great Stoke roundabouts. Design changes have been necessary due to underground services and the area required for root protection of a certain species of tree. A 4-metre deep excavation is required adjacent to the carriageway and a redesign has now been provided. This is different from our original scope, so twenty-four-hour two-way temporary traffic lights are now required to cover the area of approximately 40 metres of road. This will not affect access to The Worthys.

More: Latest on the construction of the Stoke Gifford By-Pass »

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Motorists using the southern end of Bradley Stoke Way (BSW) could be faced with extra delays for the next two weeks after MetroBus contractors Alun Griffiths announced they will need to introduce 24-hour temporary traffic lights on the approach to Great Stoke Roundabout (a.k.a. Rabbit Roundabout).

The company had previously given an assurance that temporary traffic lights, if needed at all in this location, would only be used at off-peak times.

The change of plan is said to be a consequence of design changes which require additional excavation work to be carried out.

A spokesperson for Alun Griffiths said:

“A large drainage excavation is required along the footway between Great Meadow and Great Stoke Roundabouts. Design changes are required due to underground services and the area required for root protection of certain species of tree. A 4m-deep excavation is required adjacent to the carriageway and a redesign has now been provided. This is different from our original scope, so 24-hour two-way temporary traffic lights are now required to cover the area of approximately 40 metres of road. This will not affect access to The Worthys.”

“To complete this work as safely as possible we will need to close the southbound lane at this point and use temporary traffic lights for a period of two weeks. We shall endeavour to complete this work and remove the traffic management earlier than the two-week period. Currently we are seeking to begin this work from Monday 12th June until Friday 23rd June. The lights will be manually controlled during peak hours 7am-9.30am and 3.30pm-6pm.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this time.”

The news comes just weeks after Alun Griffiths announced that work in the same area had been “re-sequenced”, meaning that it will now extend into August instead of being finished by the end of May (the scheduled completion date given at a public meeting in January).

Related links:

• MetroBus Build in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
• Alun Griffiths community website

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MetroBus construction work will still be going on within Bradley Stoke as late as August 2017, the Journal can reveal.

The news follows a decision by MetroBus contractors Alun Griffiths to “re-sequence” its programme of work at the southern end of Bradley Stoke Way, where a new bus lane is being constructed on the southbound approach to Great Stoke Roundabout.

At the start of the project in September 2015, Griffiths said they planned to finish all MetroBus work in the town by Christmas 2016, beating the advertised completion date by a few months, but the discovery of a series of uncharted gas and water mains at the northern end of Bradley Stoke Way added delays, with the consequence that the Woodlands Lane junction remained fully or partially closed for 76 weeks instead of the 18 weeks originally estimated.

In December 2016, South Gloucestershire Council gave a projected date of 11th July 2017 for the completion of work near Great Stoke Roundabout, but at a public meeting in January 2017 Griffiths said they were aiming to complete it by the end of May. [See: Presentation slides]

Despite work on the stretch starting on schedule at the end of February and favourable weather conditions during April, Griffiths have recently announced that the work will now extend into “the school summer holiday period”.

Asked to expand on the statement in their monthly progress report, a Griffiths spokesperson said:

“There is a large drainage excavation on the north east corner of Great Stoke Roundabout and design changes may be required where the [underground] services cross it. This will make the excavation extremely difficult. Managing the safety of pedestrians around this area is our primary concern, as public safety and the safety of our workforce is paramount. Therefore, it has been decided to extend the existing traffic management (which is working well) into August, so that this work can be completed with the least disruption and safely.”

More: Slippage also on A38 Aztec West and Stoke Gifford By-Pass »

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