End of the road for disruption on Bridgnorth bypass
Major roadworks which brought a bypass to a standstill have been completed.
Traffic was flowing smoothly along the Bridgnorth bypass this week after the roadworks came to an end.
Improvement work on the A458 was completed on November 24 – the first significant maintenance carried out to the road since it was built in the 1980s.
Project leaders, who marked the completion at the bypass this week, said the work had been necessary in order to repair and replace infrastructure that had reached the end of its life.
And, despite long delays for motorists, which hit the businesses in the town, they insist the positives will outweigh the negatives in the long run.
Gurnek Singh, bridges manager for Shropshire Council, said: “It is the first major maintenance on the bypass since it was built in 1984.
“Yes, there was some delays caused. When you close a road you get the first few days of chaos but it normally dies down.
“I’m pleased with the overall works – there was a few learning points along the way, which we will take on board going forward with future roadworks. But all-in-all it’s been a success.
“There’s been a bit of a pain with disruption and delays but the positives are that we have a network now, which is fit for purpose and should be maintenance free for decades.”
The bypass maintenance project has seen the replacement of bridge expansion joints on the Bridgnorth River Severn bridge, along with associated concrete repairs to the bridge and works on the parapets.
The A458 and the roundabout approaches have been resurfaced, road signs and road markings have been replaced and refreshed and footpaths have been repaired.
Street lighting, safety barriers have also been updated while the Severn Valley Railway over bridge has been repainted.
As works progressed, it was clear the cost of the scheme was going to fall below the initial budget – so it was decided incorporate the resurfacing of the Stourbridge Road roundabout into the works rather than carry it out a later date.
This meant the project lasted two weeks longer than initially expected.
Steve Davenport of Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “I’m delighted that this major and important project has now been successfully completed.”
“I appreciate that these works caused significant traffic disruption and delays to both local residents and road users and I thank them for their understanding and patience while work was carried out.
“This work was essential to maintaining a safe road network which was nearing the end of its life. I hope local people and road users will notice and appreciate the improvements that have been made to the road, pavements and bridges.
A total of £2.21 million has – to date – been spent on the scheme out of the design phase budget of £2.3 million.
Motorists should expect overnight delays on the route after Christmas for a 10-night period after Shropshire Council decided to replace the parapet mesh panels on the River Severn Bridge.
These are on order, however, the lead-in time on these items meant that it has not been possible to install these at the same time as the remaining site works. The present panels are serviceable and safe in the meantime.
Once these panels become available the contractor will remobilise a small team to install these at a future date to be confirmed.
To minimise disruption to traffic it is planned that this work will occur on weekdays overnight between 8pm and 6am using two-way traffic signals.
These panels will now be installed after Christmas – not in December as originally planned.
For more information about the works go to shropshire.gov.uk/a458
