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Wednesday 29 December 2010

Linear Park Surfacing: updated

Works to Linear Park will commence on 5th January, with the route split into five sections as follows:
  1. Devonshire Tunnel Portal – Hiscocks Drive Bridge.
    10-23rd January, access from Bloomfield Road open space.
  2. Hiscocks Drive Bridge – Monksdale Road.
    24th January - 6th February, access from Monksdale Road.
  3. Monksdale Road – St Kildas Road.
    7th - 20th February, access from Monksdale Road (and no access from St Kildas Road).
  4. St Kildas Road – Millmead Road.
    21st February - 6th March, access from Millmead Road (and again, no access from St Kilda's Road).
  5. Millmead Road – Bellots Road Bridge.
    7th - 20th March, access from Millmead Road, no access from Bellotts Road.
Further details of closures will be given during the works. When works commence, please revisit the blog for updates and images.

Here's a link to Sustrans Two Tunnels Route's pages, with information on the impending work.

8 comments:

Rob said...

Good stuff. They're going to be done in the order you've posted them?

Will this include any work on clearing Bellotts Road bridge?

John Yeo said...

Good news - visible progress once again.

Mark A said...

@John Yeo - thanks for your support.

@Rob - I've edited the post to add information on the planned schedule.

Arrangements to set up the work to Bellotts bridge over the Great Western Main Line are well in progress - this will be a contract completely separate from the work to surface Linear Park.

Some of the physical work to the bridge may need to piggyback on an overnight line closure of the route below (these closures are a regular occurance, thankfully the Two Tunnels route won't require the main line closed on its own behalf, that would be expensive)

Unknown said...

What will the final surface material be? Tarmac or something else?

franktompson said...

The surface will indeed be tarmac. (Evidently industry now uses the term 'bitmac', but it's the same difference.)

John Yeo said...

It's all getting very exciting. Decades of writing letters, wishing and waiting and now it is all coming together.

Rob said...

Do I have it right (from reading the minutes of the December meeting) that the residents of Lyncombe Vale are being a bit obstructive? What are the concerned about?

Mark A said...

That would be a bit harsh. In neighbouring communities - not just Lyncombe Vale - there's a range of views on the Two Tunnels route. Lyncombe Vale is next to Widcombe and its instructive to look to the residents association there, which has taken a disinterested* approach and been helpful with respect to arranging meetings and ensuring issues are aired. The association represents all residents and I think it's fair to say that they back the route.

Sustrans is still working to ensure that there's access to the route in Lyncombe Vale using any land available for this purpose. (The original plan 'A' is unavailable to us)

Ideally that access will be friendly to people on cycles, pushchair and wheelchairs. This access may take additional time to organise and build and we don't expect it to hold up construction of the route itself.

Back in 2006, one of our earliest actions was to ask people:

'Do you want the Two Tunnels route? Is this a good idea?'

On balance, the answer was a resounding 'Yes'. If it had not been, we'd have dropped the campaign for it.

It's understandable that a minority of people will feel apprehensive about this in terms of being neighbours to it. As supporters, we must make sure it's a success. We have plenty of potential with which to work.

*My favourite word.