Starting from Monday 22nd October Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB) will be busy in Marlow Town Centre, including commencing work on the long anticipated bridge bollards upgrade.
The works are
likely to take up to three weeks, depending on weather conditions, and will
take place during week nights only with the bridge and road remaining open
during the day. During the night closures TfB will also be taking the
opportunity to install new pedestrian crossing refuge islands outside Burger’s,
as part of a joint scheme with the Town Council, using Local Area Forum
funding.
The old bell-shaped bollards will be removed
and new, more robust, bollards will be installed on both approaches to Marlow
Bridge, which are designed to be much more difficult for HGVs to get through. Both
approaches to the bridge will be resurfaced as well. The work will be carried
out overnight under a road closure between 9pm and 6am, Monday to Friday, for
about three weeks. The bridge will remain open during the day and there will be
restrictions in place to protect the bridge when the old bollards have been
removed and the new ones not fully installed.
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| Demo bollard on display in Marlow last September |
It is anticipated that these sturdier measures will deter and prevent overweight vehicles abusing or ignoring the 3T weight limit on the historic Marlow Bridge. Deputy Leader and Transport Cabinet Member Mark Shaw commented:
“This work has been a long time coming, and
I’m glad that after all the investigations and planning that has been going on
behind the scenes we are finally able to move ahead. The new bollards have been
designed to be less easy to abuse than the old ones, and will offer additional
protection to an important historic structure.”
At the same time, to make full use of the
road closure, TfB will begin the first phase of work to install a new crossing
point at The Causeway, outside Burger’s, in a joint scheme with the Town
Council and Local Area Forum (LAF). This first phase, to install the refuge
islands, will be carried out under the same night closures as the bridge works
and will take around five nights, depending on the weather. The second phase,
to remove the adjacent parking spaces and complete a dropped kerb, will be
carried out later in the year.
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| The plans for the new refuge islands on The Causeway, Marlow town centre |
Marlow’s Mayor, Chris Funnell, enthusiastically welcomed the news that the crossing works are commencing this week, commenting:
“I’m delighted that after a long campaign to push for this
project to get going, the crossing on The Causeway is now finally being started.
Safety is our first priority and we need to ensure that everyone, particularly
the disabled, young people and the elderly, have a safe way of crossing the
road to get to the park. The new refuge will also act as a visual signal to
drivers to be vigilant in that area.”
Mark Shaw added “I’m also really pleased that
TfB have scheduled the crossing works for the same time as the bridge works –
when teams can share road closures it not only minimises disruption in the
town, it saves money. I’m looking forward to seeing the new bollards and the
crossing completed; I think they will both be good for the town.”
Work commences on the bridge bollards tonight
(Mon 22nd) from 9pm, and the crossing works are scheduled to begin on the 29th,
weather permitting.
This article was corrected on 23/10/2018 to say that the weight limit is 3T, and not 3.5T as originally stated.
This article was corrected on 23/10/2018 to say that the weight limit is 3T, and not 3.5T as originally stated.
