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With
so many roadworks around the county at the moment the thought of
having to circumnavigate yet another bottleneck can be daunting.
By
tackling congestion in this area, the local community should
also experience an improvement in noise levels and air quality.
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| Transport
Minister John Spellar |
But
the bridge at Ashchurch is just that - a bottleneck and even at
the best of times can prove to be an annoying hold-up.
But
now the Highways Agency is about to start work on a 12 month project
to improve the bridge. The
work begins on Monday 7 April and a new bridge will replace the
existing bridge.
The
new bridge will be sited alongside the old bridge to the north and
a new link road will connect the existing A46 to the new bridge.
The
existing A46 carriageway will then be used to provide local access
to the school, village hall and other properties.
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The
bridge has been a notorious bottleneck for years
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Welcoming
the start of work, Transport Minister John Spellar said: "The
new bridge will provide substantial benefits for motorists, pedestrians
and cyclists, and the local access road will provide local people
with safer access to village facilities.
"By
tackling congestion in this area, the local community should also
experience an improvement in noise levels and air quality."
The
Highways Agency maintains that the majority of work will be carried
out 'off-line' and will therefore not require continuous traffic
management and disruption to the existing route.
But
Highways Agency Project Sponsor Bob Bilbie said: "There will,
however, be occasions when temporary traffic signals and convoy
working will be necessary, but these will occur during off-peak
periods.
"Some
traffic management will be required at the start of work in order
to set up on site. Work will generally be during the daytime - Monday
to Saturday, but some night-time work will be required - particularly
adjacent to the railway line."
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