Vital work to improve the road system in Radstock to support new homes and jobs is making good progress, says Bath and North East Somerset Council.
Over £1 million was granted to support the upgrade of the road system in Radstock by central Government, to help people move around the town better, relieve congestion and pave the way for new homes and jobs on the former railway land.
Work began in July and is on target. Foundations for a new link road from Frome Road to The Street have been completed and this will be surfaced in the next few weeks, before new pavements and kerbs will be laid. A new roundabout linking the new road to The Street, Frome Road and the new housing site will also be completed in November. Although the new road and roundabout won't be open to vehicles until next year, a pedestrian route through the site will be opened up by the end of November.
To help respond to changes in traffic flow, the temporary lights on Frome Road are being manually managed during peak hours. Changes have also been made to temporary road layout in response to feedback from residents of Mill Lane and pedestrians coming down Frome Road from Writhlington. B&NES Council says it is meeting regularly with local traders to provide them with up-to-date information and support them during this period. At the start of the work, leaflets were sent to all homes and businesses and a new Radstock Shopping leaflet will be launched soon.
To support traders, no traffic management, such as temporary lights or road closures, will be in place during the Christmas period, fromDecember 1st – January 6th.
The Council is seeking planning permission to use scrubland next to the car park behind the library for additional parking spaces and it is also reviewing the existing layout of the car park to maximise the spaces available. Additional parking is available at the rear of Radstock Working Men's Club (Monday – Friday, from 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.).
Wessex Water is also in the final stages of essential flood relief work – to allow this to happen, Fortescue Road will be closed until the end of November.
After Christmas, the Council will focus on The Street and Fortescue Road, making The Street permanently two-way and also reversing the direction of traffic flow on Fortescue Road. This will not require temporary lights on Frome Road. Work is programmed to be completed by May 2015. Cllr Ben Stevens (Lib-Dem, Widcombe), B&NES Council's Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: "We recognise that the works are causing some congestion and we'd like to thank people for their patience – it's inconvenient, but in the longer term, this will lead to huge improvements for the town."
The Council will be communicating more details as work goes on via The Journal, http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/regenradstock">www.bathnes.gov.uk/regenradstock and Twitter @radstockregen