Traffic takes to the Barford Bypass ahead of schedule
Traffic is to be diverted onto the Barford Bypass almost four months ahead of the scheduled opening date.
Work on the 2.1km bypass, being built by Galliford Try Construction, started in February 2006 and was programmed to be finished by July 2007.
However, work on the construction of the £10.38m bypass has proceeded faster than originally planned, and traffic will soon be directed onto the bypass, while the remaining construction works are completed, which will now be mid-April.
And this week saw Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Cllr Martin Heatley, become the first person to drive on a length of the newly constructed highway.
He said: “This is a tremendous example of cooperation between the county council and Galliford Try Construction.
“Thanks to good partnership working motorists will be able to use the new bypass almost four months ahead of schedule and this will, in turn, bring relief to the residents of Barford.”
When traffic is directed onto the bypass, the existing road over the River Avon Bridge, into Barford from the north, will be closed to traffic temporarily for about ten weeks, for the construction of a new flood culvert beneath the existing road.
All traffic on the A429 from Longbridge Roundabout will be diverted onto the new bypass and diversion routes will be signed. Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to use the existing road into Barford.
Until the bypass construction is completed in April, vehicular access into Barford from the A429 will be restricted to the southern junction only.
Minor finishing work remains to be completed on some areas of the bypass, and off-peak traffic signals may be in use at times. In addition, the current temporary 30 mph speed limits, at each end of Barford, will be extended along the bypass for the continued protection of the workforce.
Once the work on the bypass has been fully completed, the temporary speed limit of 30 mph will be removed, and the national speed limit of 60mph will apply.
A formal opening ceremony for the bypass is planned for after Easter when the scheme is fully completed.