Residents in the Stokes breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday 27th June when South Gloucestershire Council confirmed that Gipsy Patch Lane would reopen as planned in time for the morning peak on Monday 1st July.

The busy commuter road had been closed at the Station Road railway bridge for four weeks commencing Monday 4th June in order for BT to divert underground utilities ahead of the replacement of the bridge with a much wider concrete structure in 2020.

The bridge replacement and associated highway works are being carried out as part of the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) scheme, which will provide an express bus service between The Mall and Bristol Parkway Station, also serving the upcoming development on the former Filton Airfield.

The June closure was a precursor to an anticipated eight-month full closure of the road planned for early 2020, either side of the main bridge replacement work over 12 days at Easter.

The first day of the closure proved something of an anti-climax as the anticipated gridlock failed to materialise, perhaps because motorists had heeded warnings and adjusted their journey times or maybe because Mondays is traditionally a quiet day on the roads anyway. But signs of things to come were already apparent on Stoke Lane and Little Stoke Lane as traffic tailed back to Little Stoke Park during the morning peak.

The situation was much worse the next day, Tuesday 4th June, with traffic tailed back on Bradley Stoke Way as far as the Willow Brook Centre and on Brook Way to Manor Farm Roundabout and some commuters reporting additional delays of up to 35min.

A rainy Tuesday morning on 11th June, compounded with a major incident at the top of the M32, brought more misery, with reports of it taking 30min to pass along Braydon Avenue and gridlock surrounding the mini-roundabout at the end of Stoke Lane, near the A38.

But the low point came on Tuesday 25th June when heavy rain during the morning peak brought Bradley Stoke to a standstill in all directions with BBC Bristol reporting additional delays of 35min on Bradley Stoke Way, described by one motorist as being “like a car park”.

More: Openreach (BT) thwarted by "unexpected ground conditions" »

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Residents across the Stokes are bracing themselves for weeks of severe traffic congestion resulting from the planned closure of a major commuter route through the area.

Gipsy Patch Lane is set to be closed to motorised vehicles at the railway bridge in Little Stoke for four weeks from Monday 3rd June to enable BT to divert its underground cables ahead of the bridge being replaced over a 12-day period spanning Easter 2020.

The new, much wider, concrete bridge will accommodate four lanes of traffic (one bus lane and one general traffic lane in each direction), along with shared-use paths on both sides of the road.

The surface of the highway under the bridge will be lowered by 1.7m to allow taller vehicles, including double-decker buses, to pass through safely.

The June closure comes ahead of a further planned eight-month full road closure at the bridge starting in early 2020.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), which is responsible for the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) scheme, of which the bridge replacement work forms a major part, originally said that the June closure would apply to “all highway users”. However, it was recently revealed that a route under the bridge for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists will be maintained during the closure.

Signs giving notice of the upcoming June road closure and advising motorists to “seek other routes” were put out in the week commencing 20th May. To avoid confusion, SGC says it will promote just a single signed diversion route, using Bradley Stoke Way and the A38 (see map below). However, it is widely anticipated that motorists with local knowledge and those using satnav equipment will attempt to use other diversion routes, which is likely to lead to significantly increased congestion on some smaller local roads.

More: Diversion map. Businesses open as normal. »

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A planned four-week full closure of Gipsy Patch Lane will commence next Monday (3rd June), South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has confirmed.

The road will be closed to all vehicles at the railway bridge, which is located near the junction with Station Road.

The closure is required to allow BT to divert underground utilities in preparation for construction of the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME), which is expected to start later this year.

In a change to previously announced plans, the existing footway under the bridge will now be kept open for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists throughout the June closure.

A signed diversion route via Bradley Stoke Way and the A38 will be in place (see map below).

Access to properties and side roads along Gipsy Patch Lane will be maintained and no disruption to the supply of utilities is expected. Businesses and shops along and near Gipsy Patch Lane will be open as normal.

A council spokesperson added that temporary traffic lights may be used at the junction of Gipsy Patch Lane with Station Road “for a period” during the June roadworks.

In addition, ground investigations and surveys will be carried out near the bridge during late May and in June. This will include the removal of some vegetation on the railway embankments but will not require any further road closures.

More: Further eight-month road closure planned for 2020 »

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With the planned four-week full closure of Gipsy Patch Lane during June now less than a month away, South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) says it will soon reveal details of the signed diversion routes that will be in operation during the upcoming work.

Further full and partial closures of Gipsy Patch Lane are planned over the next two years, including a full closure lasting approximately eight months from “early 2020”.

The road closures are needed to allow the existing narrow arch railway bridge to be replaced by a much wider concrete structure.

The work is being carried out as part of the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) scheme, which also involves the creation of new bus lanes along parts of Gipsy Patch Lane.

An SGC spokesperson said:

“We understand that this work will have a major impact on traffic in the nearby and wider area. We apologise in advance for this inconvenience and would like to assure everyone that we are doing everything we can to minimise disruption to residents, businesses and road users.”

The council recently conducted an online travel survey aimed at users of Gipsy Patch Lane and it says that the results of this, along with data collected from traffic survey cameras that were temporarily installed at points on the local road network during March, are being used to inform its traffic management planning.

Details of a series of public drop-in information sessions, at which further details of the CPME work and associated traffic diversion routes will be provided, are shown below.

All information displayed at the drop-in events will also be made available on the SGC website at www.southglos.gov.uk/CPmetrobus

More: Shuttle bus to be provided for non-motorised road users? »

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