Summary
- Where: Woodmill Bridge, between Manor Farm Road and Oliver Road
- When: COMPLETE
- What: Signalisation of the bridge and installation of a pedestrian crossing
- Why: Manage and limit the impact of queues at Woodmill Bridge
- How: This £250,000 scheme is funded from the Council's transport budget
Latest news
We have completed the Woodmill Bridge signalisation scheme and the new traffic lights went live in the week commencing 17 January.
With new lights, we often anticipate a settling in period where refinements may need to be made. As always, we will monitor the situation closely and adjust the lights where necessary.
Phases of work
Works will be taking place at Woodmill Bridge from Monday 6 January until Sunday 19 January 2020 approximately. This is to install part-time traffic signals to manage queues at the approach to the bridge. The work will also include a new puffin pedestrian crossing where the Riverside Park walk crosses Woodmill Lane and other maintenance work such as footway repairs and cleaning of signs.
The works have been programmed to run in January ahead of other major work throughout the year; this will allow us to manage the impact on the network efficiently. After completion, the new signals will enter a period of testing before going live in February half term.
In order to complete these works safely, Woodmill Lane between Oliver Road and Manor Farm Road will be closed for the duration of the two weeks, however access to the Woodmill Activity Centre will be maintained at all times. In the first week, access will be from Wessex Lane and in the second week access will be from Manor Farm Road.
There will also be work to install a duct crossing across Manor Farm Road from 6 January for approximately 3 days. In order to carry out this work, 4-way temporary traffic signals will be in place at the mini roundabouts on Manor Farm Road, Forest Hills Drive and Woodmill Lane.
We did look at various options to carry out the work. Whilst we are aware of the inconvenience of closing the bridge for two weeks, by doing this it will minimise the impact and reduce the time needed to complete the work. Furthermore, as we will be working in the footway, pedestrians will be diverted onto a temporary footway in the road, meaning we have to fully close the road to allow room for this.
A signed diversion route will be in place, via Portswood Road, St Denys Road, Cobden Bridge and Manor Farm Road.
Project details
A public consultation exercise was carried out regarding the provision of traffic signals at Woodmill Bridge at the end of 2018. The public consultation resulted in a good level of community interest, with 237 submissions received. Overall, the majority of submissions indicated a preference for the installation of traffic signals to manage queues at Woodmill Bridge.
The scheme progressed through the detailed design stage and secured a budget for construction in January 2020. We are installing traffic signals to minimise the impact of traffic using the bridge and the surrounding area and installing a pedestrian crossing to improve safety when crossing Woodmill Lane.
The signals will run part-time, based on the flow of traffic through the junction. The analysis from traffic modelling and trials show that the signals are only effective when there are queues (peak times). You can find out more information on the FAQ page.
It is expected that they will be on during the day time and will switch off at night time when traffic flow is lower. When the signals are off, the pedestrian crossing will still be functioning, but traffic will give and take as with the current arrangement. Part-time signals have been successfully implemented in other parts of Hampshire to manage traffic during peak times.
The lights will be switched on fully in the February school half term (week commencing 17 February). In the period between the installation and switch on, the lights will be covered and not in use apart from testing.