The Claverton railway bridge, sitting just above the A36 at Churchill Bridge roundabout to the south of Bath city centre, is set to have vital repair works carried out. This project will begin on Monday 20th June, carrying on throughout the latter half of the year, and is set for completion on Sunday 16th June.
Due to the duration of this project, to minimise the disruption to road users and rail passengers, the works will take place at night. The roads and train services will be unaffected throughout the hours of 6am up until 7pm.
The rail systems to Bath Spa have an estimated 17,500 people using the services daily, split between commuters, tourists and the local community running their day-to-day errands. The works being caried out to salvage the Claverton bridge will look to extend its lifespan by up to a further 25 years.
The project itself has a budget of £800,000, which will pale in comparison to the inevitable profits that the rail system will garner from these improvement works over the course of the next 25 years. The repair project will not just improve the local rail economy however, as the potential boost in Bath’’s economy will be improved due to continual tourism being funnelled into the city, as well as the aid in maintaining commuter’s trave ease.
The £800,000 budget for the works will be put towards extensive steel and brickwork repairs, to be carried out by Network Rail and their team of engineers. A notable part of the works being carried out is the grit blasting, a process that will see abrasive materials being propelled against surfaces at a high pressure.
Due to the nature of these works, public safety must be factored into the project, leading to road closures to the A36 Churchill Bridge roundabout for all eastbound and southbound traffic from 7pm to 6am between 20 June and 16 October seven days a week.
Network Rail’s Project Director Michael Contopoulos apologised for the disruptions by stating; “To carry out this work safely, we need to close the road underneath the bridge and for that we apologise for the disruption this will cause road users.”
Between 20 August and 9 October Network Rail’s engineers will only be working trackside each Saturday evening meaning the road closure on Saturdays will differ, lasting between midnight and 7am.
During this period of work, a diversion route, approved by Bath and Northeast Somerset Council, will be in place as follows:
- All northbound traffic including access to the A4 London Road, A46 and M4 motorway will travel via Green Park Road and Charles Street to Queen Square, and then via Gay Street and George Street onto the A4 The Paragon.
- All eastbound traffic including access to Bathwick, Bathampton and Warminster, will travel via the A3039 Dorchester Street and Manvers Street to North Parade before turning left onto the A36 Pulteney Road (South).
- All southbound traffic including access to the A367 Wellsway to Radstock and Midsomer Norton will travel via the A3039 Dorchester Street and Manvers Street to North Parade before turning right onto the A36 Pulteney Road (South).
- All Westbound traffic towards Keynsham and Bristol leaving the city centre will either follow the southbound diversion before travelling onwards via the A36 Lower Bristol Road or travel out of Bath via the A4 Upper Bristol Road.
