This is the first of a series of information posts about the Mill Road Bridge closure this summer. We’ll use these to give Romsey & Petersfield residents and businesses as much detail as we can about the closure arrangements.
Please use the comments box below if you have concerns or questions. We’ll respond to those as quickly as we can.
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Contents:
Bus Services during the Closure
The original proposed routes by Stagecoach / Govia are as below:
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Concerns raised with Stagecoach and Govia include:
- The difficulties less able people will experience in getting from one side of the bridge to the other. For example, a Romsey resident who has a GP appointment in Petersfield. If you can’t manage the walk from one shuttle bus to the other across the bridge, then with these plans you would have to take three different buses (one shuttle, the diverted 2 service, then the other shuttle)
- There is no single service for Romsey or Petersfield residents to get them to Addenbrookes. This would require changing buses at least once.
We continue to argue for better bus service provision over the closure period, working alongside Cambridge Area Bus Users to try to achieve this.
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Provision for less able residents
We have been in discussion with Cambridge Dial-A-Ride about the possibliity that their service could help to plug the gaps in the Stagecoach provision. This is an appointment only door-to-door service that would be available to residents who will have particular problems using the modified bus services described above.
We are meeting with Govia on Monday and will be asking for their support including funding of this service.
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Pollution and Traffic Monitoring
Romsey and Petersfield councillors have asked the Greater Cambridge Partnership to ensure that devices capable of measuring traffic and pollution levels will be in place for the duration of the closure and beyond.
This will allow us to understand the impact of the bridge closure on traffic volumes and pollution levels in Mill Road. In addition other major routes that are likely to be affected by changes in traffic volumes during the closure will be monitored. This will include Coldhams Lane, East Road, Brooks / Perne / Mowbray Roads and Hills Road.
The traffic monitoring will be able to distinguish between / measure cars, lorries / vans, pedestrians and cyclists, which should provide some interesting statistics.
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Gas Main Work – Triio
Gas Main contractors Triio will be renewing the gas main along the entire length of Mill Road while the bridge is closed. This is a 6-8 week project and doing it at this time minimises disruption while traffic volumes are low. The age of the existing main is such that it must be replaced.
Where practical the work will be completed by inserting new plastic main through the existing iron main, with excavation only necessary and the start and end of the sections and to connect up service pipes to the individual premises.
Triio will start work on 1st July with two teams working on both sides of the bridge. The teams will move outwards in 100m stretches from there.
The Triio project manager has been involved in our meetings, and we are working closely with him to coordinate both timings and locations of planned Celebrate! events.
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