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

Chris from Nailsea

Administrator
Hero Member

Posts: 19407

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

« on: Yesterday at 20:11:02 »

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

Quote

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."


	Logged

William Huskisson MP^▸ was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830. Many more have died in the same way since then. Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner." Discuss.

Clan Line

Hero Member

Posts: 965

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

« Reply #1 on: Today at 12:40:09 »

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^▸ . 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^▸ !!) 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^▸ and the Stonehenge bypass fiascos.


	Logged

ellendune

Transport Scholar
Hero Member

Posts: 4515

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

« Reply #2 on: Today at 16:23:42 »

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.


	Logged

paul7575

Transport Scholar
Hero Member

Posts: 5341

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

« Reply #3 on: Today at 18:45:16 »

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


	Logged

Clan Line

Hero Member

Posts: 965

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

« Reply #4 on: Today at 18:50:16 »

Quote from: ellendune on Today at 16:23:42

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

Quote from: ellendune on Today at 16:23:42

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 !

Quote from: ellendune on Today at 16:23:42

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.


	Logged

Clan Line

Hero Member

Posts: 965

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

« Reply #5 on: Today at 18:54:15 »

Quote from: paul7575 on Today at 18:45:16

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 ...............


	Logged

Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

Pages: [1]

« previous next »