South Gloucestershire Council has announced that overnight piling operations at the Gipsy Patch Lane railway bridge, originally due to start on 20th November, will now commence on Monday 2nd December.

This first phase of overnight piling work will last for four nights, from Monday 2nd December to Thursday 5th December, between 6pm and 3am.

There will be up to 18 nights of piling work, but these will not run consecutively and will be carried out in phases.

A council spokesperson said:

“Noise and vibration will be monitored throughout the work and we will make adjustments if necessary. We are working with Network Rail and their contractors to minimise the disruption and have put in place a number of noise mitigation measures such as sound barriers around the piling equipment.”

“Should you have an urgent enquiry during any of the piling work please call the Network Rail 24-hour helpline number on 03457 114141.”

The replacement railway bridge will weigh approximately 4,500 tonnes and will site on pile foundations to a depth of 25 metres. Piling is required at the four corners of the new structure.

Gipsy Patch Lane will remain open during the piling work. To enable the work, automated Stop/Go boards will be used as needed on Gipsy Patch Lane.  These will only be used when workers and machinery from the construction site need to safely cross Gipsy Patch Lane. Their use will be kept to a minimum and as far as possible will be kept to off-peak times.

All shops and businesses on and near Gipsy Patch Lane will be open as normal.

More information:

• Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (SGC)
• MetroBus Extension Build (The Journal)

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Construction activity at the Gipsy Patch Lane railway bridge site stepped up a gear in the fourth week of October as contractors Alun Griffiths began excavating the railway embankment on the east side of the bridge following a period of vegetation clearance.

The excavation work, to both flanks of the bridge, is a precursor to the commencement of piling work necessary to create foundations that will support the much wider replacement bridge at each of its four corners.

In late September, South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) announced that piling work at the site was expected to start on 14th October and last for around three months. However, as we went to press in late October, it still hadn’t started and we understand that a new commencement date of 4th November has been scheduled.

The excavation work on the east side of the bridge has required a large amount of material to be transported under the bridge to the site compound on the other side, which has necessitated the use of traffic control using stop/go boards. This work has so far been restricted to off-peak times, which has minimised disruption on the road network.

The new bridge will weigh approximately 4,500 tonnes and it will sit on foundations piled to a depth of 25 metres. To minimise disturbance for local residents, noise mitigation measures such as sound barriers will be used around the piling equipment.

Most of the piling will take place during the daytime between the hours of 7.30am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. However, SGC says it is not expected that piling will be carried out every day during this time.

It is anticipated that overnight work will be required for approximately 18 nights during the first two months of the piling. This will be carried out between the hours of 6pm and 3am. If weekend work is required, this will only take place on Saturday mornings between 8am and 1pm.

In other news, SGC has published a more detailed construction programme for the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension project (see below) which shows that highway-widening works on Gipsy Patch Lane east of the bridge will now not begin until autumn 2020. This is a change to the programme previously published as part of the planning application which foresaw this work starting in summer 2019 and requiring a one-way closure of a stretch of Gipsy Patch Lane for 12 months.

More: CPME construction programme. Bridge construction to start soon. »

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New consultation launched on proposed 20mph zone.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has abandoned plans to install raised tables at two existing zebra crossings on North Road, despite a majority of consultation respondents saying they agreed with the proposals.

The traffic-calming measures had been put forward for the crossing located near the St Michael’s Centre (by The Green) and a second further up the road near the Trust Rooms.

According to the ‘statement of reasons‘ published as part of a public consultation which ran for three weeks from 17th June 2019, the proposed measures were being made in response to “concerns that had been raised by members of the public and the local councillor”. The stated purpose was to “reduce traffic speeds on the approach to the crossings … and reduce the number of incidents where drivers fail to give way at the crossings”.

A recently published feedback report shows that, of the 64 individuals and organisations who responded to the consultation, 36 (56 percent) expressed overall support for the scheme.

However, the report also shows that the proposals lacked support from two local councillors, with Cllr Ernie Brown commenting that “recorded speed levels certainly do not warrant traffic calming” and Cllr Brian Allinson saying he was “rapidly coming to the conclusion that a 20mph limit is required”.

A response from Stoke Gifford Parish Council claimed the proposed measures would have little impact on reducing speed generally along North Road and asked if alternative measures such as flashing signs could be used.

Following a meeting between council officers, local ward members and the parish council, SGC decided not to proceed with the raised tables and it has now launched a new public consultation on a proposed ‘sign only’ 20mph speed limit on North Road and the surrounding cul-de-sacs.

Justifying the change of approach, officers said: “Current average speed readings support the installation of a 20mph speed limit without the need for physical traffic calming, which would significantly reduce the cost and disruption of the scheme.”

Consultation on the 20mph speed limit proposals runs until Monday 14th October. For further details, visit www.southglos.gov.uk/consultation or phone 01454 864215 to receive paper copies of the consultation material.

This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of the Stoke Gifford Journal magazine (on page 14). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to over 5,000 homes in Stoke Gifford, Little Stoke and Harry Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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Three-way temporary traffic lights are to return to Gipsy Patch Lane next week (from Monday 14th October) – and this time they will be in operation around the clock, i.e. including the morning and afternoon rush hours.

The lights will need to be positioned at the railway bridge and will include the junction with Station Road.

The temporary lights are needed by Wales and West Utilities whilst diversionary work is carried out on the gas main in preparation for the replacement railway bridge next year.

The work is expected to take up to two weeks to complete.

A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said:

“It was hoped that this work could be completed without the need for traffic lights but for the safety of all road users this is no longer the case. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your continued patience.”

All shops and businesses on and near Gipsy Patch Lane will be open as normal.

Three-way temporary traffic lights were in operation at the same location for around three weeks in September, but during that period they were only in place during off-peak times.

Photo: Three-way temporary traffic lights in operation at the bridge during September.

More information:

• Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (SGC)
• MetroBus Extension Build (SGJ)

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