Throughout May, the majority of the works have focused on the new A46 Bridge, the existing A46 Bridge, and the new carriageway construction around Westley Bridge.
Overview
A 50-mph speed limit remains in place on the A46 mainline to allow safe working during the various construction processes of the A46 Bridge. This remains a crucial aspect of traffic management which will remain in place for the remainder of the works. A 30mph speed limit is operating on Stoneleigh Road, which runs for the entire site extent and again is anticipated to be in place for the foreseeable future.
There is currently a temporary traffic arrangement in place on Stoneleigh Road West. This arrangement will be in place until Westley Bridge and the new carriageway alignment has been completed. This is likely to change early in June once the surfacing is complete over Westley Bridge, with a new traffic management arrangement to be in place which involves traffic utilising the new Stoneleigh Road West carriageway. There is also a temporary traffic arrangement on Dalehouse Lane to accommodate further works in the area, and will be in place until the link to the new roundabout has been completed.
Progress to date
Westley Bridge
The waterproofing of the deck of Westley Bridge is now complete, having begun in April. Now the waterproofing is applied, the bridge deck is currently being primed, which allows the eventual road surfacing to bond much better to the bridge deck. The road leading upto the bridge on either side has been progressed. Kerbs have been installed up to the bridge on each side, and the carriageway either side of the bridge was surfaced towards the end of the month.
Kerbs have been installed on the bridge itself, aswell as service ducts which will be buried underneath the footway/cycleway. This is shown in the pictures below.
Image above shows the concrete deck being primed for surfacing
Left - Westley Bridge kerbs being installed.
New A46 bridge
Waterproofing and surfacing preparation works have taken place on the new A46 Bridge throughout this month.
The final part of the bridge construction is to construct the four retaining walls, two on each side of the bridge. This will enable the ground to be built up either side of the bridge for the new carriageway to be built to go on to the bridge deck. This is due to be the next stage of construction. The concrete levelling pads for the new walls have now been installed, ready for backfilling operations to commence once the correct material has been sourced.
Existing A46 bridge
In the previous month, the service trough slabs were installed. As shown in the image below, these slabs have now been waterproofed. The next stages of construction here is to install the kerbs for the new carriageway alignment over the bridge. The work for this began towards the end of the month.
Concrete cover slabs being waterproofed
Surfacing
Many sections of footway/cycleway and central reservations across the have now been surfaced during May, along with various areas of carriageway. Furthermore, another layer of surfacing was applied to the new Dalehouse Lane roundabout, as shown in the pictures below.
Surfacing of new Dalehouse Lane roundabout
Left - Surfaced new Dalehouse Lane roundabout
Miscellaneous
The new access to Brook Farm was constructed this month during the road closure. This connects the original access to the new road alignment. The image below shows the construction of the new Brook Farm access.
The splitter island in the dual carriageway link road was constructed. This separates traffic from going onto the roundabout and traffic turning left on the A46 northbound.
Towards the end of the month the concrete parapet edge beams for the new A46 bridge were poured. These are being made now so they are ready for when the wingwalls have been constructed, and then they will be lifted into place on top of the wingwalls. By constructing the parapets as precast units it will save time constructing the wingwalls and help to open the road quicker.
New A46 precast parapet concrete pour
Left - Construction of the New Brook Farm access
Further information
Looking ahead, work will continue on Westley Bridge to surface the new carriageway across the bridge. This will then allow traffic to run over the bridge as part of a new traffic management setup that will be in place from early June.
The A46 bridge retaining walls will soon begin constructed, which will allow for the carriageway to be built over the new A46 bridge. The retaining wall construction is expected to begin over the coming months.
The existing A46 bridge will also be completed over the coming months, with a new kerbing alignment for the carriageway design, and new street lighting layout and an improved cyclist/pedestrian friendly design.
The remainder of the highway aspects of the scheme are due to be completed, which will include a number of tie-in points to the existing alignment. This means that some temporary road closures will be required, but these closures will be notified in advance.