A4 Rail Bridge Condition 'Far Worse Than Expected' |
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Westbound lane closures need to be extended by two weeks
Transport for London (TfL) has announced that the condition of the Cromwell Road Rail Bridge on the A4 in Chiswick is far worse than had been expected. This means that the anticipated full reopening of the westbound carriage will now no longer take place this week. It was originally scheduled to be back to three lane operation on Sunday 23 October and the lane restrictions will remain in place until 6 November. There will now be a full closure of the A4 westbound between Chiswick Roundabout and Hogarth Roundabout on Saturday 5 November from 10pm to 5am and a full closure the following night eastbound for the same hours. It is understood that the full eastbound closure of the road from junction 3 of the M4 to Chiswick Roundabout overnight on Sunday 23 October is no longer taking place. TfL says that the condition of the bridge has meant that Phase 2 of the project is one week behind schedule but that it still intends to have the work completed before Christmas. The third phase of the project will start two weeks later than intended but TfL believes this will be less disruptive because the westbound carriageway will be fully reopened. From 7 November to 9 December the eastbound carriageway of the A4 will be reduced to two lanes between Chiswick Roundabout and Hogarth Roundabout and the slip road to join the A4 eastbound at Chiswick Roundabout will be closed. After Phase 3, there will be two full directional weekend closures on the A4 eastbound between M4 junction 2 and Hogarth Roundabout to enable the completion of the works and the safe removal of traffic management measures. These will take place from 11pm on Friday 9 December to 5:00am on Monday 12 December and from 11pm on Friday 16 December to 5am. on Monday 19 December. Weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances could mean that the work fails to be completed on time. In this case there would be two additional full directional closures from 11pm on Friday 6 January to 5am on Monday 9 January and from 11pm on Friday 13 January to 5am Monday on 16 January. No works will take place over Christmas and New Year weekends.
The pavement on eastbound carriageway side between Oxford Road North and Harvard Hill will be closed from 7 November to 9 December. There will be signed diversion routes via the subway at Harvard Hill and the underpass on Wellesley Road The bridge has had no major refurbishment since it was built over 80 years ago, and it has gradually deteriorated over this time. TfL says the works will ensure the bridge is safe for years to come and will avoid the need for more disruptive and expensive repairs at a later date. Hounslow Council has made no announcement at this stage about whether or not the suspension of restrictions on Hartington Road and Staveley Road will be extended. We have asked Ealing Council if it still intends to proceed with the full closure of South Parade later this month which was originally scheduled to take place after the westbound carriageway of the A4 had reopened.
October 18, 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."
October 18, 2022 |