A ‘drop-in’ meeting has been arranged at Otterhampton Village Hall, Combwich from 6pm on Wednesday 4 May to discuss the scheme to improve the C182 Cannington to Combwich Footway / Cycleway.
The event will be an opportunity to understand more about how the scheme will be delivered, and what to expect during its construction.
We hope to see you there, please come along to speak to County Council officers and the contractor delivering the scheme.
The work is due to start the first week in May 2016 and is anticipated to take 5-6 months to complete.
Frequently asked questions about the scheme…
Q1. Why are the works needed and what work will be undertaken?
Currently, only a very narrow footway exists for much of the way between Cannington and Combwich. Responding to the needs of local residents and commuters, the path will be widened to two and a half metres wide with a half metre buffer (hard strip by the edge of carriageway for safety); the total length of the improvements will stretch 1500 metres providing an alternative to cycling on the carriageway between Cannington and Combwich.
Q2. How will the traffic be managed?
Traffic lights will be in operation 24/7 for the duration of the works, manually controlled during 6.00 am – 7.30pm to control the flow of traffic. The Carriageway surfacing works will be undertaken on completion of the minor carriageway widening and footway / cycleway construction. Due to the nature of these works a road closure will be required for the carriageway surfacing operations. These will be overnight closures to minimise disruption to the travelling Public. The precise dates for the road closure are dependent on completion of the Carriageway widening and footway / cycleway works, a further letter will be issued once these dates have been confirmed.
Q3. How long will the works take?
The works are scheduled to be completed by November.
Q4. Where has funding come from?
The scheme is part funded by EDF Energy’s Section 106 mitigation funding and the Department for Transport’s £1.6million investment in maintenance of highways west of Bridgwater as part of the ‘Hinkley Growth Deal’. This funding is for improvement works in advance of the main Hinkley Point C build programme.
Q5. Why can’t the work be undertaken at night?
The nature of the works is such that even if works are undertaken at night, the work areas could not be reinstated to make them available for use by traffic during the daytime. There are also practical issues associated with night time working such as the availability and delivery of materials required for the works and also health and safety issues associated with undertaking construction works under artificial lighting and noise levels.
Q6. Who is undertaking the works?
Skanska will be undertaking the works on SCC’s behalf. Standard working hours are between 7am – 17.30pm from Mon – Fri but there may be some activity on Saturdays and outside of these hours.
Q7. Will there be a change in the speed limit?
Temporarily yes, speeds will be reduced between the new roundabout at the northern end of the Cannington Bypass and the junction of the C182 with Brookside Road Combwich from National Speed limit to 30mph.