Metro reopened but gas mains work now starting with road closed until spring 2018
The following article has been written by Newcastle City council:
The £13.5m project will see Killingworth Road widened to reduce congestion, improve air quality, provide more efficient bus routes and make it easier and safer for people on bikes and on foot.
The first stage of works, including the replacement of the 100-year-old Metro bridge and track renewal by Nexus has been completed on schedule and Metro services have resumed.
Killingworth Road will remain closed to all traffic until spring 2018 to enable the next phase of the works – the re-location of gas mains – to be carried out.
Full details on the scheme are at newcastle.gov.uk/killingworth
“Mitigation measures – you said, we listened”.
Together with neighbouring councils, Nexus, bus operators and other partners we have put in place a series of measures to help keep the surrounding roads moving during the closure.
These measures are kept under review to ensure they are working effectively and to take into account feedback from residents and businesses.
In response to traffic monitoring and your feedback we are making some changes:
1. We are removing the temporary bus lane from the Brunton Bridge flyover.
We had a lot of feedback about this and our monitoring has shown that it is not having the desired effect in terms of helping traffic flows through the area.
Although it was worthwhile trying this measure during the summer holidays, in response to feedback and traffic monitoring, we have decided to remove this bus lane to coincide with the start of the new school term in September.
2. We have made changes to diversion signage and signal timings.
In response to your feedback we’ve changed the signage for the banned right turn into Salters Road, from the Great North Road, and signage at Goathland Avenue, Benton Road, Benton Lane and Hollywood Avenue.
We’ve also changed traffic signal timings at the West Farm Avenue junction with Salters Lane, the Goathland Avenue junction with Benton Lane and at Four Lane Ends.
3. We are funding more bike trains to and from the main work places.
The bike trains will run by Bike 4 Health during the weeks commencing September 11, 18 and 25.
Sign up sessions are taking place this week at HMRC, Freeman Hospital, BT, YHN and the Cobalt and Quorum business parks.
We’ll be sharing more information about the bike trains soon. Look out for #TheBikeTrain on social media.
We will continue to monitor the road network and the mitigation measures which are in place throughout the project.
Full details of our mitigation measures can be found here: newcastle.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-transport/re-newcastle-transport-improvements/connecting-key-junctions-across-5
Temporary bus lanes on Benton Lane and Benton Road
We’ve had a lot of feedback about this and about the impact of additional traffic using the Four Lane Ends junction.
These bus lanes have been essential for keeping buses moving on time during the Killingworth Road closure.
This is important because a high proportion of households in the area do not have access to a car and, as the Metro has not been running in in this area during the summer, the bus has been the only option for many people.
Information on bus diversions and fares incentives is available here: http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-transport/re-newcastle-transport-improvements/connecting-key-junctions-across-1
Advice for people walking and cycling
There is information and maps for people walking and cycling online here: newcastle.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-transport/re-newcastle-transport-improvements/connecting-key-junctions-across-2
These include recommended routes from Longbenton to South Gosforth and to Gosforth or Newcastle.
Advice for people driving
Wherever possible people are encouraged to use public transport, walk or cycle.
If people do need to drive we would advise people coming from the areas around Killingworth and to the north to travel via Sandy Lane, rather than via Four Lane Ends, which has seen greater congestion at peak times.
For those travelling to Newcastle from further north of the A19 or A189 then we would advise going south on the A1 via the Seaton Burn junction and then into Newcastle on the A167 or A695.
If you live areas around Killingworth Road there are new maps with suggested routes available online here: newcastle.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-transport/re-newcastle-transport-improvements/connecting-key-junctions-across-7
Next steps
Now that work on the Metro bridge and track renewal has been completed, Nexus and their sub-contractors will be finishing their work and leaving the site in early October.
At this point the gas board will move onto the site in order to begin their work, which will involve moving major gas mains in the area.
We appreciate people’s patience while these works are carried out.
If you have any queries please email updateme@newcastle.gov.uk
The above article was written by Newcastle City council and has been included for information purposes. The content does not necessarily represent the views of High West Jesmond Resmond Residents’ Association.