BRIDGING THE GAP - THE NEXT PHASE BEGINS

Birse Civils Limited, the main contractors of the scheme commenced work on 21 January 2008. Many of you will have noticed the alterations made for pedestrian routes near the Morrison’s store and the Railway Station to protect the public and workforce whilst maintaining access to other establishments.

In order to erect the new 280m long Southcourt Bridge, which will cross over the railway line to Friarage Road, it was necessary to demolish the old footbridge. The contractor (Birse) obtained a rail closure notice for the weekend of Saturday 15th to Monday 17 March and successfully erected a new temporary footbridge and demolished the existing footbridge.

Over the next three months the main focus will be on constructing the piled foundations for the new pedestrian bridge and erecting the retaining wall adjacent to Morrison’s car park and the bus boulevard. Although the retaining wall will be constructed of reinforced concrete, it will be clad with brickwork for a more aesthetic appearance. Construction of the foundations for the retaining wall has now started.

A water main pipe in front of the Railway Station will be diverted by contractors working for Thames Water to allow construction of the access ramp for the new footbridge.

Work will also be taking place on installing new carriageway kerbs to Friarage Road.

PROGRAMME / TIMETABLE

The second phase will be the construction of the new boulevard from the Railway Station to Friarage Road and will involve the following key changes and dates.

• Works are now progressing to construct the foundations to carry the new bridge.
• The works to Friarage Road have been delayed and commenced in April.
• We have commenced work on the east retaining walls which will allow us to build the new ramp into Friarage Road.
• The closure of the subway was completed in April and has allowed us to commence the extension of the subway.
• Pile caps are being formed on top of the piles which have been driven into the ground. The pile caps will support the columns carrying the new bridge.
• A tall mast will be erected at the centre of the new bridge to help support the new bridge using cables. 16 piles are being drilled to support its base.
• A tower crane is to be erected adjacent to Station Way, which when erected will be used to lift sections of the new bridge.

KEY PROGRAMME DATES

May
• Piling and bridge foundations
• Bus boulevard reinforced concrete walls
• Friarage Road work

June
• Bridge foundations
• Subway extension
• Bus boulevard reinforced concrete walls
• Erect crane for bridge construction
• Friarage Road / Great Western Street Road walls

July
• Commence bridge superstructure
• Subway extension
• Friarage Road night-time closure for surfacing
• Construct Spire

CONTACT DETAILS

The work is likely to cause some disruption, however, every effort will be made to keep this to a minimum. If you would like any further information, or would like to discuss the scheme please contact Highways on Call on 0845-2302882 or by e-mail address at hoc@buckscc.gov.uk. Buckinghamshire County Council website is on www.buckscc.gov.uk/roadworks/aylesburyhub.

Birse Civils Limited freephone helpline is on 0800-0329760.

Phase 4

The final phase involves the construction of Station Boulevard and Southcourt Bridge. 

These works will commence on the 21st January 2008 and will take approximately 1 year to complete. The detailed design for this phase is now complete and Birse Civils have been awarded the contract for the work.

Station Way will be closed to through traffic and consequently buses will be unable to serve the Railway Station bus stops. Passengers are advised to catch the Silver Rider (SR1) and Water Rider (WR6) services from the Bus Station during the period of the works, SR1 will additionally call at the Morrisons stop on Friarage Road towards Fairford Leys during the closure.

It is envisaged that some off-peak single lane running in each direction will be required to construct the signalised junction of Great Western Street/Friarage Road and Station Boulevard. It is inevitable that a temporary closure of the existing pedestrian footbridge across the railway from Southcourt will be required whilst sections of the new bridge are lifted into place, any closures will be kept to a minimum.