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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Work around the Gipsy Patch Lane railway bridge has intensified in recent weeks after the main construction period for the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) began in early August.

Activity close to the bridge has focused on clearing trees and shrubs to permit access to locations where excavation and pile driving needs to take place in order to create load-bearing foundations for the replacement bridge (see visualisation below).

As planned, three-way temporary traffic lights have been in operation at the bridge during off-peak times only since Monday 2nd September. These have sometimes caused long tailbacks along Gipsy Patch Lane, although it has been observed that the one-way flow under the bridge has meant that queues disperse quickly during the ‘green’ phases.

The temporary lights were supposed to be in place for two weeks before being replaced by the intermittent use of stop/go boards, however, it was announced in mid-September that the lights would be needed for at least a further week. The extension was said to be needed to “enable additional work to lower a utility cable”.

An eight-month full closure of Gipsy Patch Lane remains on the cards for early next year, either side of a 12-day closure of the railway line over Easter during which the existing bridge will be dismantled and its much wider replacement moved into place.

The precise dates of the full closure have not been announced, but information on roadworks.org suggests that it will commence on 5th March.

More: Uncertainty over traffic management plans; What happens next? »

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Roadworks are due to begin on Gipsy Patch Lane from Monday 2nd September in preparation for construction work to replace the Victorian era railway bridge and widen the road as part of the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME).

The September roadworks, which will involve the use of three-way traffic lights at the railway bridge, follow a four-week full closure of the road in June 2019, which was required to allow BT to divert underground services ahead of the main project commencing in August.

Network Rail’s contractors Alun Griffiths duly commenced work at the site on Friday 9th August and they have already carried out some vegetation clearance along the railway corridor near the bridge. Ground preparations have also been carried out within the designated site compound area within the Horizon Business Park immediately south west of the bridge.

Following reports in the press that one business, Tyres Direct, saw a 40 percent drop in takings during the June road closure, South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) is emphasising that all businesses in and around Gipsy Patch Lane will be open as usual during this latest phase of work.

Work due to take place from September will include:

• Continuing work on establishing a construction site in the Horizon 38 Business Park next to the railway bridge. This is where the new bridge will be constructed before it is moved into position over Easter 2020
• Further clearance of trees and shrubs will take place around the existing bridge, including the removal of the large trees outside the Pegasus Park business area
• Preparation for foundation work at the four corners of the new bridge and the installation of dropped kerbs for temporary pedestrian crossing points on Gipsy Patch Lane

Piling works will need to be carried out from October to construct foundations for the new bridge.

More: Three-way temporary traffic lights from Monday 2nd September »

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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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