Work could start on £29m bypass next year
PLANS are expected to be put forward this year for a bypass in Stoke Gifford to ease traffic congestion on the northern fringe of Bristol.
The £29-million Stoke Gifford Link Road would run from Great Stoke Way on the northern side of the railway line near Parkway Station and join up with the Avon Ring Road near the M32 roundabout.
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South Gloucestershire councillors will not be asked to consider planning consent until the council's Core Strategy is in place – a planning blueprint for the whole area.
A planning inspector is likely to hold an inquiry in April on the blueprint and announce his decision a few weeks later.
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It means the planning application for the new road could be considered in the summer or early autumn.
If all goes to schedule, then work on the road could start in 2013 and be completed within three years.
The link road would be a single lane in each direction with an additional priority lane for bendy buses and ordinary buses. The bridge over the railway line would be four lanes to allow for expansion in the future.
One of the biggest headaches for drivers in the area is the poor access to Stoke Gifford and Bradley Stoke which means they have to funnel under the narrow railway bridge in Brierly Furlong. But the new bypass would provide a shorter, faster route from the ring road to the thousands of homes north of the railway line.
The road is back on the council's agenda as part of the rapid bus network which would see a £102-million route from the northern fringe and through Bristol to Hengrove.
The network is going ahead following the Government's approval for funding in December. Two other routes – the £50-million Ashton Vale to Temple Meads route and the £45-million South Bristol Link – were approved by the Department for Transport in November.
The link road was considered ten years ago to help ease congestion caused by the development of 8,000 homes at Bradley Stoke and other estates. But it was abandoned because there was not enough money to pay for it and it was in danger of wrecking plans for a tram system that was then being considered.
Cabinet Councillor Brian Allinson, who is in charge of South Gloucestershire Council's transport department, said: "Now that the North Fringe to Hengrove Package has been granted programme entry status by ministers, we are working with Department for Transport officials toward gaining full approval.
"One of the most important components of the North Fringe to Hengrove Package is the Stoke Gifford Transport Link. This will be a new route across the railway line to link up the Ring Road with Great Stoke Way, which is currently a dual carriageway that just comes to a sudden end. It has, though, always been envisaged that it would be completed at some point in the future because it's the only realistic way of tackling traffic congestion by ensuring a rapid transit route from Patchway, Bradley Stoke and Stoke Gifford into the city centre."
Comments
by bristolreded
Sunday, February 12 2012, 2:11PM
“tax payers should not pay for it.”
by RobBradStoke
Friday, February 10 2012, 4:29PM
“Further to Brissleblues valid comments, the proposal will see Bradley Stoke traffic use the By Pass rather than clog up the Old Gloucester Road/Bristol Road (Hambrook).
Therefore, this may still mean many using Hatchet Road to get to the M32! Should be the Hambrook bypass arguably.
JohnDunkeld comments very valid as no attempt to reduce car traffic in the Filton area - so £29M could be better spent. May be encourage more cyclists to MOD/UWE would help!”
by lolly60
Friday, February 10 2012, 4:29PM
“ABOUT TIME THIS WAS BUILT IT WOULD MAKE THE TRAFFIC FROM PATCHWAY, STOKE GIFFORD, A LOT BETTER FOR GETTING ABOUT.”
by Oddly
Friday, February 10 2012, 2:53PM
“Its all soul-less out there anyway.”
by brissleblue
Friday, February 10 2012, 2:04PM
“Crazy - when the 'original' A4174 link from the M4 to the A38 was built there was very little 'traffic generation activity'. It was a useful route and avoided going through the established streets of the (at the time) farthest out suburbs of Brissle.
It generated traffic. In no particular order - the estates of Bradley Stoke etc, Parkway station, Sainsbury and the ever bigger home improvements shed, the office blocks NE of the road, UWE expanding to its current massive size, Hewlett Packard, the MoD procurement HQ ..... with, year after year, painful expansion of the road to two track, then the MoD junction then the M32 expanded junction. Traffic jam central.
Now the planning numpties in Sth Glos are proposing a single track two-way road? Plain daft. Guess what - there will be infill planning proposals to fill the hole between the grandly titled Stoke Gifford by-pass and the M4 - M32. All, on that map, feeding into yet another clog point on the A4174. Another guess-what .. it will open and immediately be dug up to provide dual lanes each way
What is also needed is a road to relieve the A4174, not another link-road to fill it! Including (sigh) another M4 junction to connect to the 'Stoke Gifford' bypass. Double sigh. A generation of traffic jams awaits.”
by smoosername
Friday, February 10 2012, 2:01PM
“Amazing that this road wasn't built before the developments and houses were built. Still 10-12 late isn't actually bad going for Bristol and surrounding Councils when it comes to road planning.”
by Oakman
Friday, February 10 2012, 1:49PM
“I hope the planners get permission from Network Rail to build a bridge across their line before they start building the road.
Can I remind you all of the 'Road to Nowhere' in Yate.”
by JohnDunkeld
Friday, February 10 2012, 12:49PM
“Filton ignored again then, where are our filton councillors on this then? Traffic congestion easing needs to happen here in Filton! Its grid lock every night on the A4174 and bus lanes are clogging up traffic. Whoever approved the stupid bus lane at the end of filton avenue by the George pub wants an award for the most ridiculous place to site a bus stop award. The bus lane on the other side is ignored by motorists who use it anyway.”
by Labourstitch
Friday, February 10 2012, 12:44PM
“No point in asking any Labour councillors on south glos council about this as they all failed to vote on the core strategy meeting. Spineless when you think it effects things like this isnt it.”
by Roversteve
Friday, February 10 2012, 12:05PM
“Yet another piece of the jigsaw to suggest that this is one of the best locations for the proposed UWE Stadium!”