Plan for M4 to south coast corridor to avoid Bath, through West Wiltshire

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Lorries and other traffic heading to the south coast from the M4 should be routed through Wiltshire instead of Bath, according to a government study.

Currently, the designated route from the M4 to the Dorset coast is via the A46 and A36, funnelling it across Cleveland Bridge and through Bath. But a National Highways' study has recommended making the A350 in Wiltshire the designated route instead.

Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) said it would make a "hugely positive impact" to traffic in the city. Wiltshire Council said it would need to secure investment but the finding was "a vital first positive step" towards improvements.

To avoid Bath, the agency's M4 to Dorset Coast Study recommends traffic should follow the A350 via Chippenham, Melksham and Westbury and then join the A36 at Warminster.  HGVs already have to find alternative routes due to an 18-tonne weight limit on Cleveland Bridge in Bath, introduced in 2021.

Manda Rigby, BANES cabinet member for transport, said the authority was "delighted at this outcome".  "No longer will Bath be seen as the preferred route for HGVs between the M4 and the south coast," she said.  "This will have a hugely positive impact on traffic flows long term in Bath and north east Somerset and air quality enhancements."



Parvis Khansari, from Wiltshire Council, said it will mean highway improvements could be made at "several key points in the county" including Melksham, Westbury, Warminster and Salisbury.  "This corridor is not only essential for regional travel, but these strategic roads also provide vital links between many of our towns and villages here in Wiltshire and so improving them will benefit us all," he said.  "There is a long way to go before we can secure this investment and make these improvements a reality, but this is a vital first positive step in the right direction."

[Clan Line]

I read this yesterday online and have to assume that whoever wrote this “Study” lives in Outer Mongolia and has never set foot in England, let alone Wiltshire !

It purports to talk about “M4 to the Dorset coast” route. It proposes sending the traffic through Melksham & Westbury to Warminster. Traffic “through” Melksham (no real bypass) is bad, Westbury is a nightmare already. Oh......... and Yarnbrook roundabout and West Ashton lights !

OK, let’s accept this fairy tale to that point. Where does the traffic go from Warminster ? The A350 to Shaftesbury is reasonable – apart from the very steep hill into Shaftesbury itself – then no bypass. The A350 to Blandford must be one of the worst roads in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom). They are already routing HGVs through Melbury Abbas and Spread Eagle Hill.

The other option is to send the traffic down the A36 from Warminster to Salisbury, thence to  the “Dorset Coast” Another lunatic option ! Has anyone ever driven along the Inner Ring Road & Southampton Rd in Salisbury ??

What makes this “Study” even more infuriating and out of touch is that two of the really bad pinch points on these routes have been well on the route to getting “proper” by-passes in the past. The Salisbury by-pass was ditched by John Prescott in 97/98. The Westbury by-pass was funded, until the “nimby” lobby struck and the money went elsewhere , I believe it was used to  (RE^▸ (Religious Education) !!) double up the rail route through Stroud.

This is yet another absolute classic of the inept/incompetent so-called transport planning we suffer from. Add this to HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) and the Stonehenge bypass fiascos.

[ellendune]

The objective is to avoid Bath. 

The proposed route is the A350 as far as Warminster then the A36

It is not ideal I agree, but the existing route is the A46 from the M4 to Bath then the A36 from there. So there is no change in route from Warminster to the Dorset Coast.

Perhaps they should route it by Rail instead.

[paul7575]

Warminster to Dorset strategic route remains via the A36 to M27 junction 2, then westward via the A31. I saw a discussion on the SABRE roads forum…

Paul

[Clan Line]

The objective is to avoid Bath. 

Bath is already "avoided" ! The closure of the Cleveland Bridge has already stopped heavy traffic from the A46 getting onto the A36 - as it used to do. This has moved traffic from the A46 to the A350. Bath has dumped its HGV problem onto West Wiltshire

The proposed route is the A350 as far as Warminster then the A36

You are just repeating what this useless Study is saying. The A350 and the A36 are barely capable of handling the existing traffic at the moment. To get it to the required capacity will take  £ Billions and 25+ years !

It is not ideal I agree, but the existing route is the A46 from the M4 to Bath then the A36 from there. So there is no change in route from Warminster to the Dorset Coast.

The "existing route" is not A46 to A36 even now, except in the simplistic minds of the "Study" who just seem to look at Google Maps. - unless the traffic goes over Bathampton Toll Bridge ! The proposed A350/A36 route is not "ideal" - it has just not been thought out. Even worse I don't think anyone has ever driven down that route.

[Clan Line]

Warminster to Dorset strategic route remains via the A36 to M27 junction 2, then westward via the A31. I saw a discussion on the SABRE roads forum…

Paul

Just because someone has decided to call a route "strategic" doesn't mean it is capable of handling the required traffic volumes.  If only ...............

[ellendune]

Warminster to Dorset strategic route remains via the A36 to M27 junction 2, then westward via the A31. I saw a discussion on the SABRE roads forum…

Paul

Just because someone has decided to call a route "strategic" doesn't mean it is capable of handling the required traffic volumes.  If only ...............

Totally agree.  All they are going to do as I understand it, is change the sign posts.  Though if they ever have money to spend on improvements it will be part of the justification. 

[ellendune]

The objective is to avoid Bath. 

Bath is already "avoided" ! The closure of the Cleveland Bridge has already stopped heavy traffic from the A46 getting onto the A36 - as it used to do. This has moved traffic from the A46 to the A350. Bath has dumped its HGV problem onto West Wiltshire

Yes that is their problem, the strategic route they had before doesn't work any more so they need a new one.  When they planned it I think they assumed they could build the now aborted Swainswick - Batheaston bypass to avoid Bath. 

[Clan Line]

Yes that is their problem, the strategic route they had before doesn't work any more so they need a new one.  When they planned it I think they assumed they could build the now aborted Swainswick - Batheaston bypass to avoid Bath. 

You are spot on there !  When the "proper" A46/A36 link was cancelled, that really made the remaining work that was carried out on the A46/A4 a complete waste of time and money and achieved absolutely zilch.

[Mark A]

Should route everything via M4 and the A34...

Musings from the top deck of a Swindon-Cirencester bus a week ago, and the sight (again) of the earthworks of the rail route between Cheltenham and Southampton cutting across the road, the old canal and fields at Siddington. It's a sight that's always evocative: the two rail routes playing a comparatively minor part in the railway age, and long out of use, but at least in part now paralleled by major roads constructed very much as 'Motorways by stealth'.

Roads are by their nature far better able to evolve piecemeal and as well as enjoying benefits we all pay the price.

Mark

[grahame]

Yes that is their problem, the strategic route they had before doesn't work any more so they need a new one.  When they planned it I think they assumed they could build the now aborted Swainswick - Batheaston bypass to avoid Bath. 

Others have posted while I was writing this - I have decided still to post as it backs them up and has a few extras

Indeed - you have the very curious Batheaston bypass  (connecting the A4 East - West and the A46 headed north) crossing the River Avon twice that at one point on the same side of the Avon as the road headed south (A36) and only about a quarter of a mile from it. 



The way around it shown on this map is via the Clevedon Bridge which - however - is a revered piece of history and accessed along roads like the London Road and Bathwick Street which are unsuitable for HGVs, or for an easy increase in vehicle numbers.    Other ways are the toll bridge at Bathmapton (and I'm sure there are weight limits there) and through the old town and across the old bridge at Bradford-on-Avon with problems with air quality, congestion, vibration and so on, and which has a weight limit which is very visibly applied.

There is no blindingly obvious route north to the M4 from Warminster. There is a strong case for a road (the new A350)  that allows traffic to bypass Westbury, from the A36 where it crosses the main railway to the West Country, parallel to the railway to the Industrial area north of Westbury station.   That industrial area is altready linked to the M4 via the A350 though there are pinch points at Yarnbrook and in Melksham north of the Farmer's runabout that already - err - need attention.

We shouldn't be looking at the strategic route in isolation either.  Resident population growth is set to be and mandate to continue to be explosive, but the commercial / economic hub for that growth is the Bath and Bristol area, and good mass transit links are needed - beyond what we have at the moment, as the private car infrastructure already creaks at the seams.

[UstiImmigrunt]

There's nothing wrong in avoiding Barf. Shame there isn't a Bath avoider for the railway. Never liked the place especially those who can't count when it comes to bikes in the HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) TGS.

[Mark A]

Yes that is their problem, the strategic route they had before doesn't work any more so they need a new one.  When they planned it I think they assumed they could build the now aborted Swainswick - Batheaston bypass to avoid Bath. 

You are spot on there !  When the "proper" A46/A36 link was cancelled, that really made the remaining work that was carried out on the A46/A4 a complete waste of time and money and achieved absolutely zilch.

The A36 via the Limpley Stoke valley is... marginal... and a connection to it from the Batheaston bypass would be grim. A 'Proper' A46/A36 link would involve a dual carriageway connection from the east end of the current bypass via an 'A20-at-Folkestone' style tunnel to take it out of the valley and then to rejoin the existing road at Beckington. Awkward as the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) has been reluctant to undertake that sort of engineering task.

Mark

[John D]

Here is an interesting 1990 photo of the Batheastern & Swainswick bypass (looking towards Bath).   Those parts got built, by the link to A36 in left foreground was dropped due to local opposition

https://bathintime.co.uk/image-library/image-overview/poster/20931/posterid/20931.html

[Clan Line]

Here is an interesting 1990 photo of the Batheastern & Swainswick bypass (looking towards Bath).   Those parts got built, by the link to A36 in left foreground was dropped due to local opposition

https://bathintime.co.uk/image-library/image-overview/poster/20931/posterid/20931.html

35 years ago - and all they have managed to do since then is close the Cleveland Bridge to anything over 18 tonnes.