The first stage of urgent work to to rebuild a retaining wall along the A38 Gloucester Road North in Filton is scheduled to get under way tonight (Friday 14th January 2022) with the first of three consecutive overnight closures, from 8pm to 6am, of BOTH lanes of the southbound (Bristol-bound) carriageway.
The programme of work is expected to take until May 2022 to complete and the initial overnight closures are necessary to put in place a long-term lane closure and a footpath closure.
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson explained:
“The wall is leaning and has got worse over the last few years and the work to rebuild it also involves other preparations to reinforce the area before the sections of wall are put in place.”
The diversion route during the overnight southbound full closures is (starting from the Hayes Way junction in Patchway): A38 Gloucester Road, Bradley Stoke Way, Great Stoke Way, Rosedown Avenue (Stoke Gifford By-Pass), A4174 Filton Road, A4174 Station Road, A4174 Link Road.
From Monday 17th January 2022 one lane (of two) on the southbound (Bristol-bound) carriageway and the adjoining footpath will be closed for an estimated 12 weeks. Pedestrians will be diverted alongside the northbound carriageway via the existing signal-controlled crossings.
The council spokesperson added:
“These works were originally scheduled for the summer of 2021 but were delayed so they did not clash with other works in the area.”
“We anticipate delays at this location and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.”
Updates on the progress of the work will be posted on the South Gloucestershire Council StreetCare page on Facebook.
Work breakdown
A council spokesperson provided the following breakdown of the work and and explained why it will take 12 weeks:
Our teams have to make sure the land behind the wall and the private house/garden is kept stable at all times. The job has to be completed in stages, working along the length of the wall. When those temporary works are in place, the permanent wall can be built. These are precast reinforced concrete retaining wall sections that will be lifted into place. Once the wall sections are in place the construction of the stone facing can begin.
The parts of the work that will take the most time is the temporary works and the stone facing. Constructing the precast concrete retaining wall sections is more straightforward. They have already been manufactured off site and are ready to be installed as soon as the temporary works allow.
The large number of utilities (gas, water, electricity, telecommunications) in the footway in front of the wall make the job more complex and have to be protected at all times. When designing the wall, excavations must take place around these utilities.
The work will be carried out by our contractor Tarmac, their specialist sub-contractors and StreetCare.
Related link: Roadworks in the Bristol North Fringe (Bradley Stoke Journal)
First Bus diversions
Services 75, T2 and Y6 heading towards Bristol city centre between 8pm and 6am on Friday 14th, Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th January will be affected as follows…
Services T2 and Y6 from the end of Hayes Way instead of turning right onto the A38 will turn left to Aztec West then go via Bradley Stoke Way and the Stoke Gifford By-Pass onto A4174, to Abbey Wood, continue along A4174 to resume their normal routes at Filton Roundabout.
Regretfully, the bus stops for the service T2 and Y6 between and including Gipsy Patch Lane and Filton Church will not be served. Passengers are advised to use either the Ring Mead bus stop on Hayes Way or the Springfields bus stop just after Filton Roundabout (for T2) or Golf Course Lane bus stop on Southmead Road (for Y6)
Service 75 from Patchway Roundabout will also divert as above.
Regretfully, the bus stops for the service 75 between The Undepass and Filton Church on the A38 will not be served.
Passengers are advised to use either the Patchway Roundabout bus stop or the Springfields bus stop just after Filton Roundabout.
Services heading in the opposite direction (outbound from Bristol) will operate normal route.
