Blunsdon bypass--A419

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A1Wetherby
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Blunsdon bypass--A419

Post by A1Wetherby »

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0> [tr] <TD colSpan=3> Hi There
Thought this might be of interest.
Relief at last.
Cheers
darren
New bypass proposed for village [/td][/tr] [tr] <TD vAlign=top width=416>Plans to build a dual-carriageway bypass around Blunsdon in Wiltshire have been unveiled. The new scheme would mean the busy A419 would pass the village to the west. The Highways Agency plans include a two-level junction, which would replace an existing bottleneck at Turnpike. Project manager David Radway said: "This is very good news for the people of Blunsdon. The bypass would remove 98% of through traffic." If the scheme goes ahead, work on should start in the spring of 2007 and finish early 2009. Members of the public have until 11 May to comment on the plans. There will be a public exhibition on 11 and 12 March at Blunsdon village hall.
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Chris5156
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Post by Chris5156 »

Wow, for once I'm ahead of the times!

http://www.cbrd.co.uk/futures/bypass/a419.shtml

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Dadge
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Post by Dadge »

This is the kind of situation which I don't think merits a bypass. There should be on-line improvements instead, eg. a roundabout at the junction with the B4019 (or an overbridge and slips); the B4534 diverted onto the roundabout; block off the other lane into the village; continuation of the parallel service road for the houseswest of the road; demolish the houses east of the road.
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CJ
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Post by CJ »

I think building a bypass is preferable to demolishing people's houses any day.
The Blunsdon bypass and Commonhead junction will sort out the southern end of this route -- now they just need to get a move on and do something about the Air Balloon roundabout at the northern end.
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Post by Jimbo »

So this will be the at least the fourth public exhibition on the plans for this bypass !!!

The A419 Blunsdon bypass and Commonhead Roundabout schemes are my pet hate road project, not because they are not needed, but because they are taking forever to be sorted out.

The Blunsdon bypass is a fairly short and ordinary bypass, and the Commonhead Roundabout is a plain ordinary flyover. Yet they were first proposed in the early 1990's, approved in 1998, added to the TPI programme in 2002 and with a following wind, they might get finished before the end of the decade. The scheme has already had a public consultation around 2000, but it still hasn't been formally approved.

The timeline on the HA website is -

Preferred Route Announced Spring 2002
Publication of Draft Orders Spring 2004
Public Inquiry Winter 2004
Secretary of State's Decision Winter 2005
Start of Construction Work Summer 2006
Bypass Open to Traffic Winter 2007

As the draft orders still have not been published yet, even though the Winter 2004 newsletter says they will be before the end of the year (thats 2004), the scheme is over a year late. It really winds me up that 2 simple schemes, which are supposed to be built in 18 months, are taking so long to get through the planning process.

It is also interesting to note that information keeps disappearing from the website. When the route was approved in 2002, the contractor was decided on as part of the initiative to speed up programmes by getting the contractor earlier on. This has since been removed as it seems to have delayed the programme, not speeded it up. It would be interesting to see how much of the cost is going on the planning phase compared to the actual construction cost. Perhaps an application under the FOI is in order ....

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CJ
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Post by CJ »

The draft orders have just been published -- that's what sparked this news article. However, because the government have said funding won't be available for construction to start until 2007, there's no rush to get the public inquiry completed just yet.
The HA PR is here:
http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/press_r ... 03_04g.htm
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Dadge
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Post by Dadge »

CJ: "I think building a bypass is preferable to demolishing people's houses any day."
In case you haven't noticed, building bypasses is quite a destructive operation. Improving the road on-line would be possible without demolishing houses; I just suggest it here, since as far as I remember, and the map seems to agree, there isn't much building on the east side of the road - just a few houses.
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CJ
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Post by CJ »

Finally! I can't believe it's taken so long for this simple flyover within the existing highway boundary. Still, progress is progress I guess:

A419 SWINDON - WORK STARTS ON £15.7 MILLION FLYOVER TO CUT CONGESTION AND IMPROVE SAFETY

Work on a £15.7 million scheme to reduce congestion and improve safety on the A419 at the Commonhead Roundabout near Swindon starts on 19 September.

The new flyover will carry the A419 over the existing roundabout, providing a smoother route for through traffic and reducing congestion for local traffic by removing long distance traffic from the roundabout.

The new flyover is expected to open by the end of 2006.

The Minister for Roads, Dr Stephen Ladyman, said:

"The new flyover will reduce congestion at the Commonhead Roundabout and improve journey times and safety. I am delighted work will start soon on this important scheme."

Highways Agency project manager David Radway said:

"We are now ready to start work on September 19. Most of the work will be carried out on existing Highways Agency land, with minimal impact on traffic. However, contractors' vehicles will be entering and leaving the site, and drivers should remember to take extra care while driving past the works."
Guy
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Post by Guy »

As a side note - a "pre-inquiry meeting" was held last month at Zurich's training headquarters at Foxhill near Swindon. All the surrounding roads had AA-style temporary signage to the meeting and every one of the signs misspelt Blunsdon as 'Blunsden'!
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Post by SteveA30 »

Good news about Commonhead Flyover. This ought to mean that the rbt. signals will be removed, or at least reduced to part time. Fat chance. Still, you never know.
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Guy
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Post by Guy »

SteveA30 wrote:This ought to mean that the rbt. signals will be removed, or at least reduced to part time.
With only local traffic using the junction, there should be no need for signals. The stupid thing about the current arrangement is that only half the roundabout is signal controlled so the A419/A4259 traffic flows fine but it's an absolute nightmare trying to enter the roundabout from the Liddington or Wanborough B roads at rush hour.

Hurry up and do it!
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Post by SteveA30 »

Presumably, the signals will be under County Council control if they are not already, which is why I'm doubtful about there removal after completion of the GSJ.
Does anyone know of any incidents of rbt. signals being removed by councils?
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Post by highwaymana31 »

CJ wrote:<P>I think building a bypass is preferable to demolishing people's houses any day.</P> <P>The Blunsdon bypass and Commonhead junction will sort out the southern end of this route -- now they just need to get a move on and do something about the Air Balloon roundabout at the northern end.</P>
Commonhead was shaping up well when I came through about 0100hr's today, I've never had problems here going North in the a.m, but always hit queues in the p.m
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Guy
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Post by Guy »

Steelwork for the bridge spans on the northern side of the junction is going in this weekend:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wilt ... 296042.stm
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BaggieBoy
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Post by BaggieBoy »

Strange line in the article:

"Work on the new flyover, which will divert M4 traffic away from Swindon, started in January. "

By about 50 feet I reckon!
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Lewis
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Post by Lewis »

This roundbout has flared carriageways appraoching it doesnt it?
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Post by Guy »

I agree - it's a very strange statement. Yes the slips are flared at present (beacuse the provision for the GSJ was there from day one) so M4-bound traffic will actually be slightly nearer Swindon (as well as higher up!) when the new arrangement opens for business.

The only interpretation I could make of it was if southbound traffic (i.e. towards the M4) that then wanted to go west on the M4 would now be encouraged to go to junction 15 rather than going through the town. But I'd guess that 98% of drivers would go that way anyway: Commonhead was never much of a hold-up especially compared with the number of roundabouts on the route through Swindon to J16. I guess it's just journalese and a lack of understanding by the reporter :wink:
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nrp
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Post by nrp »

It's now a year since work started on the Commonhead roundabout. Pictures on the BBC Wiltshire website here
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Guy
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Post by Guy »

If you are interested - Commonhead GSJ opened today (6 Feb) to northbound traffic. Southbound is due to open tonight. Speed restrictions remain in place on the A419 while work concludes and the traffic lights on the original junctions will be removed shortly.
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Lewis
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Post by Lewis »

Gotta have a look at some point I think. I got stuck in the queues for that roundabout when the flyover was being built last september when I was white van man for a couple of weeks :lol:
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