Work is about to start on a scheme to tackle traffic congestion and improve road safety at the Kingsfield roundabout in Longwell Green.
The roundabout, which provides access to the Aspects Leisure Park and to Asda, has seen a considerable increase in traffic levels and queuing during the rush hour due to the significant expansion of local retail facilities over recent years.
The scheme will include widening the ring road to three lanes on the approaches to the roundabout and a widening of the Marsham Way approach to provide an extra lane for traffic turning onto the ring road. Traffic lights will also be installedto control traffic on all the main approaches to the junction, with the exception of Leisure Road which will remain under give way operation.
Similar improvements made last year to the Deanery Road roundabout on the ring road resulted in a reduction in commuter journey times and a positive impact on road safety – reducing accident numbers by more than 30 per cent.
It is hoped that there will be a similar improvement at the Kingsfield roundabout, which is one of the district’s main accident concentration sites.
The work is starting on Monday 23rd August and will last for 15 weeks. Outside of peak hours, the ring road will be reduced to one lane on each of the approaches to the roundabout and a temporary speed limit of 30mph will be in force for the duration of the works.
In order to minimise disruption the council has arranged for longer working days for contractors, combined with overnight and weekend working where possible. In addition, essential maintenance work to a bridge on the ring road will be carried out at the same time.
Councillor Brian Allinson, executive member for planning, transportation and strategic environment, said: “This sort of scheme should only be installed where there is the strong evidence base to justify it.
“The area around Kingsfield roundabout has seen an unprecedented amount of new development in recent years and I believe that doing nothing at this junction would mean allowing traffic to worsen and eventually come to a near permanent standstill.
“Evidence we have gathered from recent improvements to the Deanery Road roundabout, shows that our changes have delivered a more efficient and a safer junction for commuters – reducing both journey times and personal injury accidents.
“We believe that our proposals for Kingsfield roundabout are likely to deliver similar results – desperately needed at this busy junction, which is suffering more and more from congestion and is sadly also one of the district’s main accident concentration sites.
“This proposed scheme is about ensuring that we are getting as many commuters through the junction as possible so that we can achieve the best possible journey times for our residents. It is also an important safety scheme aimed at protecting our road users.”
Source: South Gloucestershire Council
