A30/Carland Cross - Chiverton Cross Dualling

The Carland Cross to Chiverton Cross Dualling scheme is a scheme which is under construction to improve the A30 north of Truro, Cornwall.

Background

The Carland Cross to Chiverton Cross Dualling scheme had been in the pipeline for years, but has only recently made it to fruition. On the 14th July 2017, upon completion of the Temple to Higher Carblake bypass, the A30 through here became the only remaining section of Single Carriageway between Camborne and Exeter and is estimated to cost the county around £10 million each year in lost possible income, mainly from tourism.

Works were done in 2005 to help Chiverton Cross roundabout to cope with traffic until the new bypass was built, with construction expected around 2008, as all of the plans were being prepared and archaeological surveys had already been carried out, showing some of the proposed route. The plans were dropped by the Highways Agency when the recession hit and the South West Regional Assembly decided that the dualling of the route was not a priority on two separate occasions when asked by the Department for Transport what needed funding at that time.

While coming to the end of the design phase for dualling the A30 at Temple, Cornwall Council have picked up the baton. They have lobbied the DfT and Highways England that it should be the next section of A30 to be dualled when the Temple to Higher Carblake section is dualled which is logical. There was an aspiration to start preparing plans for the route and, upon the completion of Temple to Higher Carblake, they hoped the section from Chiverton Cross to Carland Cross should be ready for works to start in 2017.

However, by the end of 2014 this has since been pushed back to 2019/2020 when it was announced that the scheme would be included in the new Road Investment Strategy. Cornwall Council have taken a back seat on the scheme as Highways England have been leading the project, unlike the recent scheme at Temple scheme that Cornwall Council lead.

Zelah Bypass

The village of Zelah had been bypassed in 1991 so that the large amounts of Holiday traffic who use the road in the summer didn't have to squeeze through the narrow road and up through Zelah Hill. The bypass was constructed to allow future dualling along the route, with widened banks along the road. The bridge that the A30 passes over south west of Zelah and the overbridge to the south east are all extra wide, unlike the earlier Connor Downs and Hayle Bypasses, which cannot accept dualling without major re-construction of the bridges.

2005 Plans

Research has shown that an outline of the scheme was produced when the scheme was originally put forward, including the junction layouts, and is avaliable in the appendix of a Devon County Council document (link below).

From Carland Cross, the current roundabout with the A39 would have formed the southerly of two roundabouts for a dumbbell junction. It would quickly pass south of the current route, with a slip road from the former route meeting the eastbound carriageway. The Westbound side would have then had sliproads and an upgraded road would run to the B3285 at Boxheater. It would have continued to the start of the Zelah Bypass where there would be a exit slip road off the eastbound carriageway and then follow the current road up Zelah hill to meet the current junction and former route near Marazanvose. The westbound slip roads would be upgraded and the former route would be realigned to meet it. The eastbound side would get new slip road and this would form a Par-clo junction, A quick re-route over the top of Marazanvose and then back south of the current route beside the Car Dealership. It would then meet another dumbbell interchange with the B3284 from St Agnes and Shortlanesend where it would follow the existing Dual Carriageway before heading north of the current road and over the A3075. The former route would be plugged into a T-Junction with the A3075 at the point which they run parallel and they would be re-aligned to meet Chiverton Cross from the south. The new road would have then met Chiverton Cross from the east. It would be retained as a roundabout, albeit grade separated with the A30 flowing straight into the Blackwater Bypass. It can be assumed that the new route would have passed under the roundabout due to it being on top of a hill.

2013 Cornwall Council Plans

Cornwall Council proposed that they would put forward new plans for the route that it would follow much the same line that the old proposed route did with a few changes to junctions, to cut the costs slightly. The road would be built to Expressway standard when completed, and it will have 3 or 4 junctions along the route, as well as it's terminal junctions at either end. In order to spread the load of the costs, the council proposed the split the scheme into two phases.

• Phase 1 would be the preparatory works along the route, as well as at either end. It will mostly consist of traffic modelling, design work and securing permission to start building.

• Phase 2 would be the bulk of the works, including the construction of the carriageways on and off the current alignment. This would have left three junctions, presumably with the B3284, B3285 and access to Zelah, all of which will be grade separated. There may also be local access around Boxheater.

However, at the end of 2014, the Government put forward it's Road Investment Strategy which proposed a new funding mechanism and secured 5 year funding of proposed schemes. The improvements to the A30 at this location were included and Highways England picked up the lead on the scheme, running consultations alongside Cornwall Council in March 2015. The initial feedback was that, of the over 1300 people consulted, 94.5% approved of the need for the scheme and that the majority of them believed that dualling was the best course of action.

2016 Plans

Having started a second round of consultation on the scheme in October and November 2016, Highways England presented an initial preliminary route. This initial route included a dumbbell junction to the east of Chiverton Cross, a trumpet/dumbbell hybrid at Carland Cross and west facing slip roads at Chybucca. It also included a more northerly and more southerly route west of Chybucca as the road has to pass a few houses at this location. The scheme also didn't make use of the existing provision for dualling along the Zelah Bypass. Concerns were raised in a few areas, including the design of Chiverton Cross and some more local issues surrounding land and compensation, but overall the new scheme once again received a largely positive response.

Preferred Route Announcement

Highways England presented their revised plans on 3rd July 2017 when they made their preferred route announcement. There were a few changes to the initial proposal. The more northern route was taken west of Chybucca and Chiverton Cross became a full roundabout interchange, making it the third in Cornwall if constructed. Carland Cross was also modified to make use of the existing roundabout and a new roundabout was added to the north of the junction to connect an extended B3285, which will take over the route of the A30 between Boxheater and Carland Cross.

Statutory Consultation

The final plans added some more detail to the Preferred Route Announcement. The existing bridge at Two Burrows (near the western edge of the Zelah Bypass) would be retained and used to carry the new dual carriageway and a Local Access Road would be built alongside and to the north here, running parallel to the new road as it descends Zelah Hill. A new, wider bridge would be provided Tolgroggan, carrying a footpath and farm access over the Zelah bypass, to carry three carriageways under it. A new green bridge would be provided at Marazanvose and, apart from some minor design tweaks, including enlarging Chiverton Cross once more, the final scheme that is being taken forward to receive Development Consent differs very little to that presented at the Preferred Route announcement.

Once the consultation has concluded, the scheme will be put forward to the Planning Inspectorate to apply for a Development Consent Order. The application then has to be accepted by the Planning Inspectorate which will then have a six month window to examine the scheme where there will be one final consultation. They then have a further three months to recommend the scheme to the Secretary of State, who in turn has a further 3 months to make their final decision on the scheme.

Latest

14th August 2014

The Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP, visited Cornwall to discuss various plans around Cornwall, including the dualling of this section. He has asked the Highways England to do a review of this stretch to be presented in September to see whether it is worth this plan being entered into the Autumn Budget.

1st December 2014

The Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP, announced £15 billion worth of investment in roads over the next 5 years to improve Britain's Trunk Road network. Along with dualling of the A303 at Stonehenge, the scheme announced that the A30 from Carland Cross to Chiverton Cross will also get funded and built before 2020, which ties in with previous estimates. The scheme is estimated to cost around £150 million.

17th March 2015

Cornwall Council and the Highways England have started the consultation process on this section of road. Questionnaires have been made available via the Council Website as well as at three consultation meetings along the route.

Details of the Consultation are available here: Cornwall Council Website

3rd July 2017

Upon feedback from the public consultation which closed on the 2nd Dec 2016, HE announced the preferred route of the A30 Chiverton Cross to Carland Cross improvement scheme. Details of this can be found here.

Spring 2021

Fencing for the new route is now visible, along with signs on the existing A30 that offline works will be carried out for the remainder of this year, with anticipating opening of the project in September 2023. Initial earth works are taking place.

November 2022

The newly aligned A3075 at Chiverton Cross is now open and work on a temporary realignment of the A30 is now underway.

June 2023

The National Highways Engagement Van visited Truro on 8/9 June to give an update on progress. It has now been confirmed that many of the local roads (e.g. Pennycomequick Lane and Trevalso Lane) that have already been closed for more than the planned one year will now not be reconnected until the dualling work is complete. The December 2023 opening date has been put back to some unspecified time (Spring?) in 2024. The signs that used to say 'Delays possible until Dec 23' have all been removed and now read 'Complete Winter 2023'.

February 2024

On 23 February, National Highways, announced that the recent bad weather meant the work has been delayed by several months, possibly until June. National Highways said the original delivery plan target date to open the new dual carriageway to traffic was the end of March, ie before the Easter half term break - but has confirmed that June is now the most likely date. Closures of certain roads connected to the scheme could last until the autumn.

Links

Cornwall Council

Cornwall Council LEP Bid (Page 5)

Stategic Economic Plan

Devon County Council

Carland Cross - Chiverton Cross 2005 Route Plan (Page 5)

National Highways

National Highways Project Site