South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has confirmed its intention to begin a new set of roadworks on and around the Aztec West Roundabout next month.
The new scheme, which is completely independent of the MetroBus work currently being carried out in the area, is being funded as part of an £18.1 million Growth Deal award made to the West of England LEP.
SGC says 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.
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).
A full description of the scheme, along with a detailed drawing, can be found on the council’s website at http://bit.ly/aztec-1508
SGC statement on planned Aztec West roundabout / A38 southbound widening works (issued 24th March)
Site investigations have been in progress since December 2015 and will continue to take place throughout April. To date these works have taken place largely off carriageway.
The next phase of work is currently scheduled to begin in May and will involve upgrading the A38 northbound shared use path (between Aztec West Roundabout and the M5) to a width of three metres. We are also installing new controlled pedestrian and cycle crossings at Bradley Stoke Way, Gloucester Rd A38 north and Park Avenue as part of this project.
We are awaiting confirmation from the utility company (Wales & West Utilities), however our current plan is to start the A38 southbound utility works at the same time as the shared use path works if possible. This involves the re-routing of a major gas line away from the carriageway.
Due the complex nature of the utility diversions that are necessary to carry out the widening works, we are focusing our efforts on ensuring that these are as developed as much as possible before the main construction work on the carriageway begins.
The delivery of this scheme will be phased alongside the MetroBus works, which take place on a separate approach to the junction. The major carriageway works associated with the Aztec West roundabout lane widening are not planned to begin until next year, after the Bradley Stoke Way section of the MetroBus works has been completed.
Further information about the delivery of the scheme and notification of any traffic management restrictions will be made available two weeks before the start of any works. The dedicated scheme webpage www.southglos.gov.uk/A38roundaboutwidening will be kept up to date throughout the duration of the works. This webpage will include phasing plans that identify the traffic management areas required for each phase.
The construction is expected to last approximately one year with funding currently available through the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, and agreed up until 2017. The work is being completed in this time frame as funding was available during the current and the next financial year, and we also want to realise the benefits of these improvements as soon as possible to help ease congestion in the area.
We recognise that the works may cause some disruption and will endeavour to minimise their impact wherever possible.
This article originally appeared in the April 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.
Postscript (20th April): Roadworks.org is currently showing a start date of 16th May for this scheme. We hope to to be able to publish an update from SGC in our May magazine.
