Congestion Plans For Portishead to Be Displayed

MULTI million jam busting plans to ease congestion at Portishead’s traffic clogged motorway roundabout are to go on display to the public.

North Somerset Council is organising a series of drop in sessions over the next fortnight for people to have their say on the scheme.

The authority is working in partnership with the Highways Agency to carry out a £3 million package of improvements at junction 19.

It is hoped the improvements will mean drivers will see an end to the long queues which form on the Portbury Hundreds and on the Bristol side of the A369 at peak times.

Work is expected to start in September and be completed by June next year.

The work is being partly funded by developer Persimmon as part of a 106 planning agreement drawn up as a result of the huge housing development at The Ashlands in Portishead, together with a grant from Government as part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network major improvement scheme  and cash from the council 's Local Transport Plan.

The scheme will see new traffic signals installed on both junctions of the A369 with the roundabout.

A short additional lane will be created on the approach to the roundabout on the Portbury Hundred and the roundabout carriageway  re-marked to provide a second lane to get on to the M5.

The northbound slip road onto the motorway will be widened to accommodate this additional lane before merging to a single lane to join the motorway.

On the Portbury side of the roundabout, an additional lane will be created between Portbury High Street and the motorway roundabout .

Changes will also be made to the junction of Portbury High Street, stopping drivers turning right on to the A369.

Traffic lights will also be put at the junction of the A369 to St Georges Hill to make it easier for people in Pill and Easton-in-Gordano to get onto the A369.

A high occupancy vehicle lane will also be created on the A369 to help traffic travelling out of Bristol to the motorway and Portishead get onto the junction more easily.

The lane will run from just before the St Georges Hill junction to the turn off to Portbury High Street .

The lane, being installed as part of the improvements to the Greater Bristol Bus Network, will be available to cars with two or more people travelling and buses.

Work will also be carried out to resurface the roundabout and replace the crash barriers.

The Highways Agency will be refurbishing the existing traffic lights at the roundabout as part of the project and also replacing the waterproofing on the bridges.

North Somerset Council executive member for highways and strategic planning, Councillor Elfan Ap Rees, said: “

These combined works will bring the existing roundabout up to current standards, improve the efficiency of the J19 gyratory and approach roads and reduce the queue lengths on the approaches to the roundabout.

“It is inevitable that there will be some disruption to road users during the works, however, the vast majority of the works on J19 will be carried out overnight so that there will be minimal disruption to the peak time traffic flows and during the day.”

The issue of congestion along the A369 - the only main route out of Portishead - has been in the spotlight for several years as the town has continued to grow in size.

Some mornings commuters are forced to sit in long tailbacks on the Portbury Hundreds to get across the motorway roundabout and into Bristol .

At peak times traffic also often tails back on the Portbury side of the A369, often stretching back more than a mile past the Rudgleigh Inn.

The situation reaches crisis point, with the whole of Portishead coming to a standstill, if the motorway is congested or if there is an accident.

Plans to re-open the Portishead to Bristol railway link to ease the traffic also now look likely to be del ayed because the funding will not be available in the short term because of the Government spending cuts.

Drop in sessions are being held at Pill community hall on July 24 from 10am to 1pm and at Portbury village hall from 2-4.30pm.

There will also be a session at the Folk Hall, Portishead, on July 31 from 10am to 1pm.