Delays ahead... but it should be worth it, says minister
WORK has officially begun on an £88-million motorway scheme that will allow drivers in the Bristol area to use the hard shoulder.
The "managed motorway" project will include stretches of the M4 and the M5 around Bristol.
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Roads Minister Mike Penning, left, with Highways Agency project manager Paul Unwin, on a visit to the South West's first managed motorway scheme Picture: Chas Breton
Work will include strengthening the hard shoulder, building emergency refuge areas, installing gantries and electronic signs and installing sensors to measure traffic flow.
The stretches affected are near the Almondsbury interchange, including 3.4 miles of the M4 between junctions 19 and 20 and 3.1 miles of the M5 between junctions 15 and 17.
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It will mean two years of delays while the work is carried out and a series of overnight closures.
But it is hoped when the scheme is up and running in spring 2014, it will lead to fewer traffic jams and smoother journeys.
It will be the first of its kind in the South West, following successful trials on the M42 and M6.
Senior project manager Paul Unwin explained how it will work.
He said: "There will be an inductive loop on the road which can detect traffic build ups.
"Then the hard shoulder can be opened, unless cameras on the roadside show there has been an accident.
"What this does is reduces stop start and helps prevent the breakdown of traffic flow."
Critics of the idea have raised concerns about safety given the hard shoulder is normally where you pull over to when you have car trouble.
But Mr Unwin said the pilot projects had seen fewer accidents not more.
He said: "Normally we would have expected 11 incidents since 2006 but there have been no fatalities.
"In an emergency you still pull over, there are no new rules. With road widths in this country there is always room for emergency vehicles to squeeze through."
Preparatory work, including site clearance and the installation of CCTV cameras, started last November.
Around 200 people will work on the project at the height of construction.
Mr Unwin also set out what disruption there would be for motorists while the work is carried out.
He said: "In order to minimise the delays to road users, we are carrying out this work in phases, starting on the M4 section and keeping three lanes available to traffic both directions at peak times throughout the construction.
"A reduced speed limit of 50mph will be in place 24/7, enforced with average speed safety cameras to ensure the safety of road users and our workforce."
Roads Minister Mike Penning MP visited Bristol yesterday for the official launch.
He said: "This junction has been a blight on the region for some time.
"£90 million is a lot of money and there will be some pain when we do the work but the public want it sorted. It will make planning journeys easier. Time stuck in a traffic jam is money lost. The environment is also affected because the least efficient time is when you're idling."
The scheme is one of 20 road projects across the country due to start construction before March 2015, as part of a £2.1 billion government package to boost the economy.
Comments
by J12345678
Thursday, January 26 2012, 7:37PM
“Perhaps BCC planners should understand that wider M-ways and using the lane is the sensible thing to do rather than narrowing a perfectly good road. Namely Whiteladies Rd where 2 lanes of traffic managed each way for the majority of its length, including bus stops which didn't stick out. Now it's basically a one-lane road with hold-ups when the bus lets passengers on/off.”
by DM_Fishponds
Thursday, January 26 2012, 7:17PM
“@Harryreg_uk wrote, "I'm a bit confused, how can we spend so much money without First Group profiting?"
I can explain. This project is being run by central government via the Highways Agency NOT Bristol City Council. So there is a chance that the project might also be a good idea and benefit ALL road users not just First Bus.
The clue is in the photo and the fact that there are none of the usual suspects in it!”
by Daveoc64
Thursday, January 26 2012, 7:05PM
“The cost might seem high, but it's exponentially more expensive to widen a motorway by one lane (per mile) than it is to build an entirely new one of the same length.
The "Managed Motorways" scheme isn't as expensive as putting in an additional lane, but it is still costly.
The cost/time taken is made worse by the road having to remain open throughout the works.”
by harryreg_uk
Thursday, January 26 2012, 6:54PM
“I'm a bit confused, how can we spend so much money without First Group profiting?”
by DM_Fishponds
Thursday, January 26 2012, 6:49PM
“@bgreen123 wrote, "This will be a FOUR-TIMES more expensive failure, Si clist!"
I think bgreen123 has just admitted that 'Cycling City' is a £23 million failure!”
by SiClist
Thursday, January 26 2012, 5:37PM
“If you can predict the future, why didn't you try and stop Cycling City, it then wouldn't have gone ahead, been a colossal failure and wasted £23,000,000 of tax payers money?
We could have then tried to spend the money on turning more pavements into cycle paths, to enforce the fact they should be for cyclists and cyclists use only?”
by bgreen123
Thursday, January 26 2012, 5:28PM
“Si Clist, it WILL be a failure.. Those stats WON'T hold up.”
by SiClist
Thursday, January 26 2012, 5:09PM
“I'm not sure a reduction in journey times by up to 25% and a drop in the average accident rate from 5.2 per month to 1.5 on the M42 could be classed as a failure.
I'm not sure a drop in pollution around the M42, with fuel consumption down by 4% and vehicle emissions down by 10% could be classed as a failure.
But this is coming from the person who thinks Cycling City was a success, so I can understand the confusion.”
by bgreen123
Thursday, January 26 2012, 5:01PM
“This will be a FOUR-TIMES more expensive failure, Si clist!”
by RobMcCarthy
Thursday, January 26 2012, 4:42PM
“It may indeed ease congestion and be a success in that respect, but I simply can't get my head around the £88 million figure. I'd understand maybe £2m. I'd think £10 million is steep. But £88 million?”