Wootton Bassett Road footway reconstruction to get underway
Major work will see temporary traffic lights in operation during off-peak hours from Monday, 29 January.
Published: Monday, 22nd January 2018
Temporary traffic lights will be in operation during off-peak hours on Wootton Bassett Road to enable major footway reconstruction work to take place.
The scheme has been on the Council’s highways maintenance work programme for the past two years and will take place between the Westcott Place/Kingshill mini roundabout and The Runner public house starting next Monday (29 Jan).
It is anticipated the improvements will take no longer than eight weeks to complete and, in order to minimise the impact on peak-time traffic, the temporary traffic lights will only be in operation between the hours of 9.30am and 3.30pm.
The major maintenance work is required to address the deteriorating condition of the path and profile of the footways on both sides of the carriageway. This has been caused by a combination of the ageing existing path surfaces and the creation of a number of utility trenches over the years.
The surface layers of the footpaths will be completely renewed by the Council’s contractor and access improvements will also be made.
A footway closure and lane closure adjacent to the working area will be in operation during the work, which will be broken down into a number of manageable phases which will not exceed 70m in length. The traffic flows will be monitored and managed by manually controlled traffic lights. Pedestrian diversions will be in place.
Advanced warning signs were placed on site last week to warn motorists of the upcoming work.
Cllr Mary Martin, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Place, said: “This work is part of the Council’s ongoing highways maintenance improvement programme and has been in the planning for around two years.
“The timing of the work is unfortunate for motorists who regularly use Wootton Bassett Road as it comes not long after the unexpected work by Thames Water to repair the burst water main.
“However, we have taken steps to minimise the disruption from our work as much as we can by reducing the working hours so they fall outside peak traffic times and we will be keeping a close eye on congestion throughout the works.
“I would encourage drivers to leave a little bit of extra time or to consider alternative routes if planning to use Wootton Bassett Road during off-peak hours.”