Birse Civils have made significant progress with the A34 bypass works over the summer, they are still way ahead of schedule and are aiming to open the new road in November.
On Friday I met with Wendy Harkin, Public Liaison for Birse Civils, and Doug Mackie, Project Manager for Cheshire East, to collect the most recent overhead photographs and information regarding the construction of the A34 Alderley Edge and Nether Alderley bypass.
As you will probably know the bridge at Brook Lane is now completed and the road reopened on August 26th. I walked down last week to take a look and the road has been raised several metres so Brook Lane is certainly not as steep as it used to be.
The structure of the bridge at Welsh Row is also complete but there is still a fair amount of work to do in this area. Birse are currently anticipating to open Welsh Row to traffic in November.
Black top has been laid from one end of the road to the other. In total four layers of surface are required, currently some areas have two layers whilst others have three - apart from the areas under the bridges which are currently being prepared to ensure surfaces have been laid in time for the Bypass Run and Walk on Sunday October 24th.
The pumping station which has been installed at Brook Lane, to take water off the carriageway, is working under temporary power and they are waiting for the final connection by United Utilities. Another pumping station has been built in Nether Alderley which has a 12 metre diameter and is 14 metres deep. This is completely buried and also working under temporary power.
Doug Mackie said "We are still working at Bollington Lane and Monks Heath where we have a programme of works up until Christmas. We have done everything we can do without interfering with the traffic flow so the intention is to complete the works at Bollington Lane and start resurfacing this road, along with the A537 and A34 next week.
"We can then make the A34 one way, divert the other traffic around Bollington Lane and complete the junction where we need to install a new traffic signal system."
Doug Mackie added "We're also going along the route and doing all the final preparation now, such as mounding and cultivation which is all weather dependant.
"A planting contract will be awarded next week with a view to starting the work at the end of October/early November. We anticipate that the planting will continue right through the winter and I can confirm we are on budget and ahead of schedule."
As reported last month, to celebrate the opening of the Alderley Edge and Nether Alderley bypass local residents will have the chance to run or walk the new road on October 24th before it opens to traffic in November.
Organised by Nether Alderley Parish Council, Alderley Edge Rotary Club, Wilmslow Running Club, the Combined Charities Christmas Shops, Seashell Trust and many other helpers this is set to be a fantastic community event to celebrate a momentous occasion. The day will start with a 5 mile running race at 9.30am for the more energetic members of the community. Then for those that prefer a more leisurely approach, starting from 11am at either end, there will be the opportunity for people to walk the bypass.
We have now set up a dedicated page for the A34 Alderley Edge and Nether Alderley bypass run and walk - a link to which can be found in the top right corner of the home page. We will be updating this page regularly as new information becomes available and entry forms for the race along with charity sponsorship forms can be downloaded from this page for anyone wanting to run or walk on behalf of their favourite charity.
To provide an understanding of the route taken by the bypass we have produced an interactive map which has been added to the Bypass Run and Walk page.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
When Doug Mackie spoke about making the A34 one way he is referring to only a small section of the existing road at Monks Heath.
In order to install a new traffic signal system at Monks Heath the traffic flow needs to be disrupted. Therefore the plan is to wait until the work is complete at Bollington Lane and then make the traffic on the A34, at Monks Heath, one way and divert the traffic in the other direction along the Chelford Road (A537) and down Bollington Lane to come back on to the A34.
Hope that clarifies things.
I just hope that Tesco/Dobbies garden Supercentre doesn't win approval of its planning application with the result that traffic through Alderley is as bad as ever.
Keep up the good work.
They are aware of the concerns raised on alderleyedge.com and Doug Mackie had said:
"We do appreciate the problems this will cause and manual lights will be installed and closely monitored, we will do our best to keep the disruption as low as we possibly can".