A46 Worcestershire

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Richardf
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A46 Worcestershire

Post by Richardf »

Has there ever been any definate plans to improve the A46 between the M5 and Evesham? I was visiting the area recently and drove that section a couple of times and noted how busy and popular a route it was and it got me wondering. Apart from a WS2 bit bypassing Sedgeberrow it's largely unimproved, but definitely needs more, ideally to D2 to match the D2 further north.

On a side note whats your thoughts on the Evesham bypass? Seriously underbuilt as an S2 full of roundabouts!
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IAN
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by IAN »

Richardf wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 23:30 Has there ever been any definate plans to improve the A46 between the M5 and Evesham? I was visiting the area recently and drove that section a couple of times and noted how busy and popular a route it was and it got me wondering. Apart from a WS2 bit bypassing Sedgeberrow it's largely unimproved, but definitely needs more, ideally to D2 to match the D2 further north.

On a side note whats your thoughts on the Evesham bypass? Seriously underbuilt as an S2 full of roundabouts!
Well there was this - https://pathetic.org.uk/unbuilt/strensh ... _motorway/
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jackal
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by jackal »

There is a current proposal to bypass the A46 between the M5 and Teddington Hands roundabout.

https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/high ... rt-scheme/
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ajuk
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by ajuk »

Never understood the 30mph limit through Ashchurch, that probably made sense before the new bridge was built but now it seems really non-uniform.

Is this popular as the main route from Coventry and Leicester parts of the midlands to the South West?
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by SJobson »

ajuk wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 01:44 Is this popular as the main route from Coventry and Leicester parts of the midlands to the South West?
Yes - I used to live in Kenilworth (and now Cheltenham) and it was pretty much the same time to the M5 J9 taking M40/M42/M5 as A46. Anyone around Stratford on Avon area, even as far north as Redditch and Henley in Arden, will probably find the A46 at least equal fastest route to the M5 south.

The section from Sedgeberrow to Teddington has been improved quite a bit since its days as the A435 (e.g. at Beckford), but obviously not enough.

Evesham bypass was necessary and very successful when it was opened in the 1980s - but that was of course in the days before the A46 dual carriageway from Alcester, so all the routes to Evesham were single carriageway.
Last edited by SJobson on Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:35, edited 1 time in total.
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danfw194
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by danfw194 »

Richardf wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 23:30 On a side note whats your thoughts on the Evesham bypass? Seriously underbuilt as an S2 full of roundabouts!
I only have limited experience but....awful, chokes up completely at any vaguely busy period.
jackal wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 00:03 There is a current proposal to bypass the A46 between the M5 and Teddington Hands roundabout.

https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/high ... rt-scheme/
Ah good, definitely a scheme that's needed. Bypassing to the south (with only a very cursory look) is surely the path of least resistance.
ABB125
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by ABB125 »

Aha! My area of interest!

There was a plan in the 1990s to build a (grade-separated) dual carriageway from the M5 at Ashchurch to the Evesham bypass (though junction designs are unknown as far as I'm aware), but I don't know if it included any improvement to the Evesham bypass (it would be a bit odd for a high-quality D2 to crash into the existing S2 bypass for a few miles, before becoming D2 again). Unfortunately, the scheme was cancelled (supposedly on Black [insert day of week here]). You can see the original consultation brochure in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41295&p=1114077#p1114077. Let me know if the link doesn't work.

As mentioned upthread, Gloucestershire County Council (well, Atkins!) are developing an Ashchurch bypass as part of the Ashchurch Garden Town plan ("garden town" = 10,000 new houses apparently :roll: ); however, very little is known about the scheme. It will be a "dual-carriageway", and run from the M5 to Teddington Hands roundabout (where the A435 meets the A46). Public consultation on route options is currently running at least a year late (see below). There are some interesting local rumours going around (though I'm hearing them second-hand from my parents as I'm currently away at university), including: the route has already been decided and public consultation won't have any effect; the new road will start at J10 on the M5 instead of just south of J9; there will be a hamburger roundabout at Teddington Hands; Beckford will also be bypassed (which could explain the delay, as this would be more design work). I'm sure there are other rumours, nut I can't remember unfortunately.

There's a bit of interesting reading in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42770&p=1199379&hil ... t#p1199379

In the Midlands Connect document referenced in that thread, Beckford is aspired to be bypassed by 2035, and a new Evesham (eastern) bypass built by 2030. Nothing in mentioned of the road between Beckford and Evesham, but I imagine this would be bypassed as well.

~~~
Gloucestershire Country Council Scheme Timeline:
  • Consultation planned "winter 2021" (ie: Jan/Feb)
  • Late 2020 announcement - consultation delayed. HE wanted more time to look at GCC proposals before giving feedback. GCC then delayed in acting on that feedback. Local elections mean nothing can be announced. Consultation therefore expected in summer 2021
  • March 2021 - £5 million additional development funding allocated to A46 project, with the aim of consultation later in 2021
  • A few weeks ago - project webpage subtly changed to remove scheme timeline and change consultation to "in 2022". No reason given for delay
When pressed for information, this was the response:
[The delay] is because we are working through the technical work and programme for the scheme with National Highways
So basically, a "go away, stop asking questions" response. I see the extra funding was very useful at speeding up the project... :roll:
Funny how they were all ready to go in March/April 2021, the only thing stopping them was local elections, yet it turns out they were blatantly lying. What a surprise!

Finally, I love this quote from a BBC news article:
If cabinet approves the funding, the OBC will be submitted to the Department for Transport in spring 2020 following a consultation later in 2021.
SJobson
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by SJobson »

ABB125 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:48 There are some interesting local rumours going around (though I'm hearing them second-hand from my parents as I'm currently away at university), including: the route has already been decided and public consultation won't have any effect; the new road will start at J10 on the M5 instead of just south of J9; there will be a hamburger roundabout at Teddington Hands; Beckford will also be bypassed (which could explain the delay, as this would be more design work). I'm sure there are other rumours, nut I can't remember unfortunately.
I live pretty close to M5 J10 now and pored over the consultation documents for the improvements to that junction. There was no mention of any connection to the Ashchurch bypass, and on the face of it, it would be unlikely since it would require a lot more new road which would effectively duplicate the M5 J9-10. However it is pretty much a straight line from the new roundabout planned just east of M5 J10, past Stoke Orchard and Wingmoor Farm to the A435/B4079 junction and thence Teddington Hands, so maybe the idea has merit.

Hand in hand with the dualling of the A4019 from M5 J10 into Cheltenham, the construction of the enormous new West Cheltenham housing development and the ever-increasing size of Bishops Cleeve, there's some logic to the A46 continuing to J10 rather than trying to fit a bypass through Ashchurch's new housing developments. That feels like a very 1990s road plan which would never be approved now, though.
ABB125
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by ABB125 »

SJobson wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 12:30
ABB125 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:48 There are some interesting local rumours going around (though I'm hearing them second-hand from my parents as I'm currently away at university), including: the route has already been decided and public consultation won't have any effect; the new road will start at J10 on the M5 instead of just south of J9; there will be a hamburger roundabout at Teddington Hands; Beckford will also be bypassed (which could explain the delay, as this would be more design work). I'm sure there are other rumours, nut I can't remember unfortunately.
I live pretty close to M5 J10 now and pored over the consultation documents for the improvements to that junction. There was no mention of any connection to the Ashchurch bypass, and on the face of it, it would be unlikely since it would require a lot more new road which would effectively duplicate the M5 J9-10. However it is pretty much a straight line from the new roundabout planned just east of M5 J10, past Stoke Orchard and Wingmoor Farm to the A435/B4079 junction and thence Teddington Hands, so maybe the idea has merit.

Hand in hand with the dualling of the A4019 from M5 J10 into Cheltenham, the construction of the enormous new West Cheltenham housing development and the ever-increasing size of Bishops Cleeve, there's some logic to the A46 continuing to J10 rather than trying to fit a bypass through Ashchurch's new housing developments. That feels like a very 1990s road plan which would never be approved now, though.
Personally I don't think the new road should go to J10. The main purpose of it is an Ashchurch bypass; if it goes to J10, it's no longer an Ashchurch bypass. As a result, all traffic heading for Tewkesbury and M5N will continue to use the old road through Ashchurch, which is undesirable (especially as I'm pretty sure the plan is to turn the current A46 into a "boulevard"...

That new roundabout just east of the new J10 must look tempting to the planners though! (Never mind the fact that sending all the strategic A46 traffic through this junction will simply overload it :roll: )
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by SJobson »

I agree, I can't see M5 J10 being used; although I think the majority of the traffic flow from the A46 to J9 will be heading south, not north, so the remaining northbound traffic would have a much clearer route to J9.

There's definitely going to be a new road at Ashchurch anyway; cynically I think it'll probably look like the new(ish) part of the A38 past Walton Cardiff when it's actually built. It'll be useful to serve the new housing estate then. I think most of my knowledge came from the 2018 Masterplan document available here: https://www.tewkesburygardentown.co.uk/documents - looking at it again, the sketches are very vague and it sounds like the rumours are a response to that. I haven't kept my ear close enough to the ground to hear them; where I live, all the chatter is about the West Cheltenham development and the consequences for the A4019.

Hopefully the consultation for the new A46 alignment won't be delayed further and we'll get some proper knowledge shortly.
ABB125
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by ABB125 »

SJobson wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 12:50 I agree, I can't see M5 J10 being used; although I think the majority of the traffic flow from the A46 to J9 will be heading south, not north, so the remaining northbound traffic would have a much clearer route to J9.
I agree that there would be far less traffic passing through Ashchurch. However, the aim should be to transfer as much traffic as possible away from the town.
SJobson wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 12:50 There's definitely going to be a new road at Ashchurch anyway; cynically I think it'll probably look like the new(ish) part of the A38 past Walton Cardiff when it's actually built. It'll be useful to serve the new housing estate then. I think most of my knowledge came from the 2018 Masterplan document available here: https://www.tewkesburygardentown.co.uk/documents - looking at it again, the sketches are very vague and it sounds like the rumours are a response to that. I haven't kept my ear close enough to the ground to hear them; where I live, all the chatter is about the West Cheltenham development and the consequences for the A4019.
GCC seem adamant that it will be a dual-carriageway, but I doubt it'll be grade-separated unfortunately. There definitely needs to be a free-flow connection to M5S as this is the strategic flow, but I'm not hopeful!
SJobson wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 12:50 Hopefully the consultation for the new A46 alignment won't be delayed further and we'll get some proper knowledge shortly.
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ajuk
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by ajuk »

They should also complete the A38 bypass of Tewkesbury, crazy why you would build a bypass like that only to still run the road through the town center even though the land for the bypass is readily available.
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by ABB125 »

ajuk wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 13:01 They should also complete the A38 bypass of Tewkesbury, crazy why you would build a bypass like that only to still run the road through the town center even though the land for the bypass is readily available.
Yes.
But... flooding would be an issue, especially as the nice green corridor from the T-junction next to Morrisons to between Travis Perkins and The Handyman Centre is basically the Carrant Brook floodplain.
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by Alderpoint »

ABB125 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 13:18
ajuk wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 13:01 They should also complete the A38 bypass of Tewkesbury, crazy why you would build a bypass like that only to still run the road through the town center even though the land for the bypass is readily available.
Yes.
But... flooding would be an issue, especially as the nice green corridor from the T-junction next to Morrisons to between Travis Perkins and The Handyman Centre is basically the Carrant Brook floodplain.
It obviously was originally the idea as the slips off the junction were built and are still there.
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by Richardf »

The simplest solution would be to dust off the old dualling plans. I've now seen them and maybe with a few tweaks should work fine.

Can't see why the Evesham bypass can't be dualled online. Seems enough space on the outside of it, even if the junctions can't be grade separated (which would be good though).
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ABB125
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by ABB125 »

Richardf wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 20:18 The simplest solution would be to dust off the old dualling plans. I've now seen them and maybe with a few tweaks should work fine.

Can't see why the Evesham bypass can't be dualled online. Seems enough space on the outside of it, even if the junctions can't be grade separated (which would be good though).
The latest Midlands connect thinking is an offline bypass to the east, with the existing bypass becoming a "local road for local people". Though I imagine that any offline upgrade would run parallel to the existing bypass where it crosses the River Avon up to The Valley retail park.
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ajuk
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by ajuk »

Alderpoint wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 18:24
ABB125 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 13:18
ajuk wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 13:01 They should also complete the A38 bypass of Tewkesbury, crazy why you would build a bypass like that only to still run the road through the town center even though the land for the bypass is readily available.
Yes.
But... flooding would be an issue, especially as the nice green corridor from the T-junction next to Morrisons to between Travis Perkins and The Handyman Centre is basically the Carrant Brook floodplain.
It obviously was originally the idea as the slips off the junction were built and are still there.
I was there this evening, looks like there's some work stating there, are they finally building it?
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jackal
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by jackal »

As there's some overlap, I'll mention that the main thread for Ashchurch (which isn't in Worcestershire) is here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41295. It includes the 2018 designs.
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Re: A46 Worcestershire

Post by Owain »

Several posts above describe the Evesham bypass as S2.

It isn't: it was built and marked out as S2W; the hatching was added at a later date.
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