Article updated 30/11/22
Saltford Parish Council aims to make residents aware of significant roadworks which may cause severe delays. B&NES Council is the responsible authority for Highways, and as such SPC relies on information provided by B&NES Council which is usually shared to SPC including links to the One.Network website a week to two weeks before works take place.
SPC contacted B&NES Council about recent roadworks and for information about future upcoming works. SPC has been informed that the significant delays on the A4 Bath Road the weekend before last (19/20 November) were due to Western Power general infrastructure works on the A4 / Pixash Lane junction (not linked to the Keynsham Recycling Hub project). A permit for these works was manually put in place a day before (Friday 18 November) the works took place, which is why SPC could not raise awareness to residents about these works as usual via its social media channels.
SPC has been informed that Western Power were due to carry out works the weekend just gone (26/27 November) to complete the work started the previous weekend, but this permit was withdrawn due to the train strike on Saturday 26 November.
SPC raised to B&NES Council’s attention that temporary traffic lights were in place on the morning of Saturday 26 November causing significant delays, and that these were not listed on B&NES Council’s One.Network email to SPC. B&NES Council has responded (30/11/22) to say that the temporary traffic lights were for a Western Power emergency fix which was needed following the recent inclement weather and that the lights were removed as soon as it was safe to do so, which was around 11am. As this was an emergency the B&NES team was not aware until Monday morning. B&NES Council has added that although no planned works were allowed because of the rail strike, emergency works are an exception.
The main Western Power infrastructure works have been rescheduled for two consecutive weekends in the New Year. B&NES Council has said that they will confirm when they have definite dates for works.
B&NES Council has also said: There is no planned work involving temporary traffic signals or lane closures on the A4 from 1 December through to 2 January. This also applies to all the A roads and main roads in the area and is due to the increased seasonal vehicle and pedestrian traffic flows.
If residents have any questions about the works please view One.Network and/or contact B&NES Council as the Highways Authority for the Saltford area, B&NES Council contact details can be found at https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/contact-us