Turf cutting marks start of Bridge Road widening scheme

Devon County Council’s £13.45 million scheme will develop two continuous outbound lanes from Countess Wear to the Matford roundabout on one of the busiest routes into the city.

In preparation for the start of work, a turf cutting will be held at the Canal Bridges at 10.30am on Monday 15 February, when site offices and material storage areas will be established.

The 14-month scheme will commence in the last week of February with utility diversion work at the Glasshouse Lane junction and the east side of Countess Wear Bridge. 

From mid-March a contraflow system will be set up at the Canal Bridges to divert traffic onto the Bascule Bridge when work starts on the Swing Bridge. This will continue until late summer. Foundation work for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the railway line will start around the same time.

Throughout March, April and May, the east side of the Countess Wear Flood Relief structure will be removed and rebuilt to accommodate the widened road alignment. This work has been given flood defence consent by the Environment Agency and will have minimal impact on flood defences. The west side is being rebuilt from late May to October.

The new pedestrian and cycle bridge to be attached to the west side of the Grade II Listed Countess Wear Bridge will be fabricated off-site, and when the new bridge abutments are complete, the new bridge will be craned into position by January 2017. 

Once all of the major structural work is complete, it will enable the new road surfacing and road markings to be laid by March 2017.  Fencing, pedestrian guardrails and some landscaping will also be completed during this period.

The route is one of the busiest commuter routes into the city centre, carrying 30,000 vehicles a day. It is also a key route for bus services, with approximately 16 buses using the route during peak hours. However, the outbound section which merges from two lanes into one currently creates a bottleneck on the A379 corridor, leading to queuing at Countess Wear roundabout and its approach roads.

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, said: “Widening Bridge Road is essential in order to maintain economic growth in Exeter and the county as a whole. This is a busy route which is at capacity, so this upgrade will get traffic moving and reduce journey times, which will help unlock major development in the area. In the meantime please plan your journey and allow extra time.”

The scheme is being funded using a combination of developer contributions as well as £5.3 million from the Heart of the South West LEP’s Growth Deal funding.

Steve Hindley, Chair of the Heart of the South West (HotSW) LEP, said: “The Bridge Road widening is one of the first of our Growth Deal funded projects to start on site, so it marks the beginning of a whole calendar of significant projects that will improve the transport infrastructure for the area and have a positive effect on the economy. Heart of the South West Growth Deal projects are selected on the basis of benefitting the whole of the area as well as the immediate location. As we develop a pipeline of projects which complement each other to deliver transformational growth, we are really seeing the progress take shape of our Strategic Economic Plan.”

Creating two continuous lanes will aim to tackle traffic queues, improving the reliability of journey times for all traffic, while at the same time improving links for pedestrians and cyclists.

For the safety of the travelling public and site staff, traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction between Countess Wear roundabout and Matford roundabout throughout the scheme. There will also be a 20mph speed limit and a number of overnight or weekend road closures. Closure dates will be advertised on signs well in advance.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “This is a lengthy scheme, due to the complexity of the work needed on the structures on this route. However, the long term benefits will be worthwhile and will improve sustainable travel options as well as tackling congestion.”

Councillor Andy Hannan, local County Councillor for Priory and St Leonard’s, said: “This is a case of short-term pain intended to bring about long-term gain. In general I welcome this development and hope that it will eventually have a positive impact on Countess Wear roundabout, particularly on the approach from Topsham which currently gets backed up in the morning rush hour. If the extra lane means that motorists are no longer tempted to use rat runs through the Glasshouse Lane estate the work will have been worthwhile.”

Gavin McKevitt, Operations Director for Lagan Construction Group, said: “Lagan Construction Group is delighted to have secured this significant infrastructure contract by Devon County Council. We have a fully committed team to ensure this contract is delivered with the highest safety standards, within programme and cost requirements for Devon County Council.”

The first phase of the scheme was completed in Spring 2014, when concrete piled foundations were installed in the piers of the historic Grade II Listed Countess Wear Bridge. These will support the cantilever pedestrian and cycle bridge which will be constructed along the upstream side of the bridge.

As part of the widening, the Swing Bridge will be rotated by around a metre to improve its alignment to accommodate two lanes to Matford roundabout. The toucan crossing will also be relocated to the northern side of the canal, and the junction of Countess Wear Road and Bridge Road will be reconstructed.

Work will be carried out by Lagan Construction Group.

For more information visit www.devon.gov.uk/bridgeroad