Revised Schedule for Roadworks on A4 Announced |
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Delay due to Queen's funeral could mean closures continue into next year
Transport for London (TfL) has announced its revised schedule for programme of lane closures on the A4. The project to repair the Cromwell Road Rail Bridge in Chiswick had to be suspended to allow Queen Elizabeth’s funeral cortege to pass through the area without delay. This has put the project back by a week and, although the current schedule still envisages completion before Christmas, TfL now has contingency plans for further lane closures in January. The latest schedule indicates that the worst of the congestion in the local area is likely to be seen between 23 October and 2 December when restrictions in both directions are in force. The work on the road will resume on Sunday evening with a full westbound closure of the A4 between Chiswick Roundabout and Hogarth Roundabout starting at 10pm on 25 September and ending at 5am on Monday morning (26 September). The following night there will be a full eastbound closure of the M4 from Junction 3 to Junction 1 (Chiswick Roundabout) which is scheduled to end at 5am on Tuesday morning (27 September). From then until 23 October there will be one lane of traffic on the west bound carriageway and two lanes on the eastbound carriageway. Up until this point there have been no lane restrictions eastbound. The slip road to join A4 eastbound at Chiswick Roundabout will be closed and traffic heading for Hogarth Roundabout is likely to be diverted along Chiswick High Road. At 10pm on 23 October there will be another full eastbound closure of the road from junction 3 of the M4 to Chiswick Roundabout with the road reopening at 5am on Monday morning (24 October). From 24 October, the westbound carriageway is expected to fully reopen which should mitigate the severe traffic congestion that has been seen in Chiswick recently. Restrictions on the eastbound carriageway will remain with the road reduced to two lanes until 2 December. Once this phase is complete two full closures of the M4 and A4 eastbound between junction 2 and Hogarth Roundabout will be required over the weekend. These will commence at 11pm on Friday and the road will reopen at 5am on Monday mornings. At the moment these high impact closures are due to take place on Friday 2 December to Monday 5 December/Friday 9 December to Monday 12 December. However, should there be any further delays in the project it is possible that closures will continue into January 2023 although they will not take place over the Christmas and New Year holidays. TfL says that while it promises to make every effort to finish the works on time poor weather conditions may mean it needs to reschedule at short notice.
September 22, 2022 |
A4 Roadworks to Be Suspended Due to Queen's Funeral |
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Move made to avoid delays to cortege as it travels to Windsor Castle
Transport for London has taken the decision to suspend roadworks on the A4 in Chiswick for a week in preparation for the state funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Work to repair the Cromwell Road railway bridge is to be paused from Friday 16 September to Saturday 24 September and all lane restrictions are to be temporarily removed. Work is expected to resume on Sunday 25 September There will be a full closure of the A4 westbound overnight between Chiswick Roundabout and Hogarth Roundabout from 10pm on Thursday 15 September until 3:00am the next day to allow the road to be cleared. The pavement on the westbound side of the road – between Harvard Hill and Oxford Road South – will reopen as planned on Friday 16 September. Signed diversion routes via the subway at Harvard Hill and the underpass on Wellesley Road will remain in place until then. On the day of funeral on Monday 19 September the cortege would need to travel through Chiswick, past the point of the roadworks, on its way to Windsor Castle after leaving Westminster Abbey. There are currently substantial delays at this point due to the road being reduced to a single carriageway near the junction with Sutton Court Road. There have been concerns expressed about visiting royalty from other nations and heads of state, being stuck in traffic on their way from Heathrow prior to the funeral. Warnings about the opportunity high-value targets being static in congestion presents to terrorists have been made. The roadworks were due to enter a particularly disruptive phase with a lane reduction on the eastbound carriageway starting on 17 September while the restrictions on the westbound carriageway continued. TfL is currently working on an updated programme to remove and reinstate the works but it is possible that the closures may now need to continue into next year. Cllr Peter Thompson, leader of the Conservative group on Hounslow Council said, "This sensible move from TfL is expected and very welcome. The eyes of the world will be on London in the days ahead and more people than usual will be travelling to London to pay their respects to our late Queen. We need all our major roads to be open to make their journeys as smooth as possible."
September 22, 2022 |