Motorists in the Bradley Stoke area will have to contend with TWO concurrent sets of major roadworks during 2016 after South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) confirmed its intention to proceed with a 12-month scheme of improvements on and around the Aztec West Roundabout.
Commencing in “spring/summer”, SGC says work will be carried out “in coordination” with the MetroBus construction work on Bradley Stoke Way that is currently scheduled to last until December 2016.
Features of the scheme include:
- Widening of the A38 approach to the roundabout from the north (from Junction 16) to provide six lanes entering the junction (compared to the existing four). This will enable two lanes to be dedicated to each of the key traffic movements (left to Bradley Stoke Way, straight on to the A38 towards Filton, and right turn to the Aztec West Business Park).
- Widening of the eastern side of the circulatory carriageway to provide four lanes through this part of the roundabout (two serving the straight on movement to the A38 south and Filton, and two serving the right turn into Aztec West Business Park).
- Installation of new pedestrian and cycle controlled crossing points across three arms of the roundabout (Bradley Stoke Way, Aztec West and A38 to the north).
The council carried out a public consultation on the proposals from 5th August to 18th September 2015 and was due to publish the results by 9th October, but this was delayed by over two months due to the effort required to respond to the “unexpectedly large volume of responses”.
The consultation report shows that 41 responses were received, with six of these agreeing with the scheme and 13 disagreeing. Four responses agreed with the scheme but with reservations and the remaining 18 expressed no preference but asked questions or made additional requests. No mention is made of any alterations being made to the scheme as a result of the consultation process.
In a ‘statement of reasons’ document published as part of the public consultation, SGC said the work is necessary to “mitigate the impact of traffic arising from new developments”, such as the Cribbs/Patchway New Neighbourhood where 5,700 new homes are expected to be constructed by 2027.
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson said:
“The consultation feedback statement has now been published. We apologise for the delay, this was due to the unexpectedly large volume of responses received, which required input from a number of different teams within the council.”
“The work is expected to last approximately a year. We are currently assessing different traffic management options, however we will issue a press release ahead of the start of any construction works.”
“We are working closely with the MetroBus team to phase the construction works in a way that will minimise the impact on road users. The early phases of the construction will take place off-carriageway which will reduce the likelihood of additional delays at the junction whilst the MetroBus works are completing.”
A full description of the scheme, along with the consultation report, can be found on the council’s website at http://bit.ly/aztec-1508
Related post: Woodlands Lane closure extended to August 2016
This article originally appeared in the January 2016 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, 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.
It would be nice if someone took the effort to make the road markings and temporary road signs compliant! They are still contradictory.
Roadworks.org is currently indicating that these works will take place “4 Apr 2016 – 4 Sep 2017”
Location:
A38 S’bnd M5J16 to AZTEC West Rbt, East, West & Northern arms AZTEC West Rbt, N’bnd A38 between Aztec West and M5J16.
Description:
Carriageway widening including associated Footway, Verge and embankment works on A38 southbound between M5 J16 and AZTEC west roundabout. Construction of Toucan crossings East, West and Northern arms of AZTEC West roundabout. Northbound A38 footway construction between Aztec West and M5 J16.