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8-week part-closure of Bristol & Bath Railway Path turns into 6 months

Council says overrun down to safety grounds, but Sustrans calls delay "disappointing"...

A section of the Bristol & Bath Railway Path that was closed in early October for a scheduled eight weeks will not reopen until the end of March – meaning that it will have been out of commission for almost six months. The local council carrying out works say the overrun is due to safety reasons, but Sustrans has described the delay as “disappointing.”

The affected part of the path, Britain’s busiest dedicated traffic-free cycle route, is at Teewell Hill in Staple Hill. South Gloucestershire District Council sent letters were sent to local residents and businesses last year telling them that it would “be closed from Monday 6 October for approximately eight weeks.”

It has not yet reopened, however, and local resident and road.cc user Stuart Kerton told us that signs had appeared warning that it was closed for 22 weeks, or 32 weeks, depending which direction a cyclist was riding in.

We contacted the council to find out what the current situation is. They told us: “This essential closure was put in place in October to allow the foundation works to be carried out to widen the existing road bridge above the Bristol to Bath cycle and walking route.

“This involves using a small section of the cycle path as a construction site where the embankment foundations are being put in which will eventually hold the new, wider bridge in place.”

Simon Spedding, Street Care Design and Operations Group Manager at South Gloucestershire Council, added: “The closure of the railway path has had to be extended for safety purposes. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to your journey while these extended works are carried out.

“Work is taking place on site to put four embankment supports in place at each corner of the bridge which is taking longer than originally anticipated. It is essential that the path remains closed while the construction work is carried out. Safe passage for users of the railway path is not possible during this work.

“We have reviewed the diversion route in partnership with Sustrans and we have put in place a shorter diversion with improved signage which should help to mitigate any further disruption.”

That diversion is via Signal Road access ramp, Signal Road, Teewell Hill, Gloucester Road, Stanley Park Road, Morley Road, Soundwell Road, Midland Road and Acacia Road, where the path is rejoined via an access track.

The council added: “Once completed, the wider bridge will also provide new footways for pedestrians.

“While the railway path is temporarily closed, we are also carrying out essential maintenance work to the Staple Hill tunnel including repointing the arch and airshafts. The work is being combined in order to keep any disruption to a minimum.”

The Bristol & Bath Railway Path was built by Sustrans between 1979 and 1986, was the first developed by the sustainable transport charity and remains the most-used facility of its type in the country.

Jon Usher, Sustrans area manager, told road.cc: “It’s disappointing that the works have overrun to such an extent.

“The Bristol & Bath Railway Path is valued because it’s a continuous traffic free corridor between the two cities, and it’s the busiest dedicated traffic free route in the country.

“Unfortunately the diversion requires people to go on-road which makes the route far less appealing to commuters and leisure users alike.

“We hope the works can be completed as soon as possible and all possible measures are being taken to look at how the Railway Path can be reopened at the earliest opportunity,” he added.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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9 comments

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Alf0nse | 8 years ago
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Still closed

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deepkittycaz | 9 years ago
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Opening date now revised to late spring. I was hoping to start using this section when the clocks went forward.

http://www.southglos.gov.uk/news/update-on-bridge-widening-at-teewell-hill/ I was hoping to start using this section when the clocks went forward.

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Alf0nse | 9 years ago
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Standard..I expect it to open some time in late August

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Ting | 9 years ago
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" for safety purposes" eh?
Sounds more like poor project management to me.

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Redvee | 9 years ago
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What this article fails to mention is the local residents were putting tacks/pins on part of the initial diversion before the diversion was changed to it's current route. Police were aware of the tacks but no further action has been taken as far as I'm aware.

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chokofingrz | 9 years ago
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Saw a diversion sign in Bristol today (Ashton bridge): "This cycle path will be closed on 24 January for the opening of Bristol Green Capital". Idiots. I don't have much of a carbon footprint but I'm inclined to leave one up somebody's backside.

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ibike | 9 years ago
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“Disappointing”? More like unacceptable, surely?

This is how they deal with cycle path diversions properly in the Netherlands.

“When a country takes cycling seriously and treats cyclists as normal traffic it makes sure cycling can continue even when the conditions of the infrastructure are temporarily changed.”

https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/temporary-bicycle-bridges-...

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Mr Agreeable | 9 years ago
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It seems like every other cycle route in Bristol is closed at the moment. My normal route into the city via Crews Hole is shut while the council try and get someone to mend a wall - 6 months and counting. Cattle Market Road behind Temple Meads is officially closed while some rubbish shared-use pavement is built. Temple Meads itself has the lethal Cheesegrater Bridge, which recently acquired massive "cyclists dismount" signs but still has no date for resurfacing. The much-touted Dutch-style lane on Clarence Road shut immediately after opening so stabilising works could be carried out on the river bank.

In all these cases there's a small but noticeable negative impact on journey times and quality, and reopening dates that only seem to get further away. It's flipping depressing, quite frankly, and it drives home the message that as bicycle users you're basically an afterthought in the city's road provision.

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jacknorell | 9 years ago
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Even Sustrans thinks only motor vehicles are traffic:

“The Bristol & Bath Railway Path is valued because it’s a continuous traffic free corridor between the two cities, and it’s the busiest dedicated traffic free route in the country."

No, it's very busy with traffic, just solely of the bicycle and pedestrian types.

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