Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

As previously posted about the road closure A605 and how the best laid plans have not come to any sense…..Many complaining of HGV’s and others using some short cut
#Rat Runs# @ Narrow Drove/Beales Drove/Blackbush….
Lorries have got stuck I am informed.
Ramsey Road & Church Street is very busy indeed…..and guess what van turns up to do work on pavement van blocking again one side.
All said there has been no reported accidents as yet.

Further to my previous posts – The qualified Bridge Engineer has visited the site and deemed the Bridge to by safe to use. They CCC Highways will be carrying out repairs in the near future, until the planned replacement later this year (2 years delayed).
I transversed the bridge yesterday on my large mobility truck and yes it has started to ‘lean’ a bit and is slightly ‘wobbly’ but took me and my mobility truck over nice and slowly.

OK only looks a small amount but I wonder who dumped this nicely besides the bin – thank you…..

It has been reported…..

Resident requested that the field opposite Park House – Church Street be opened up for well being. Monies from a Government grant has been allocated to each Market Town in Fenland, and this project which I was going to put forward had already been done so by Cllr Jason Mockett.
Yesterday Sunday, workmen were preparing the site.
There will be NO play equipment  as there are too many trees in the way.
New gate and support posts …..

Further to Part 1 – this is the latest update....   I just love the final para….
“arrange a follow-up lessons learnt/review meeting with Councillors once the works have concluded.”

Dear Cllr Boden,

Thank you for your email. We have now confirmed the latest arrangements for the works and associated traffic management.

King’s Dyke Bridge and A605 closures

Unfortunately, it has not been possible to revert to the previously planned Friday evening start. National Highways have confirmed that its works will continue on the diversion route on Friday night, and Jones Brothers were unable to reschedule their works at this late stage. 

The King’s Dyke Bridge works will therefore commence at 6am on Saturday morning and continue through to 6pm on Monday.
At that point, the full closure will transfer to the Anglian Water/developer site and will continue through to the following Saturday.

The developer works will also commence on Saturday morning and will operate under a soft closure using 24/7 Stop/Go traffic management. This will allow the HGV movements associated with the works to be managed safely through the site and, importantly, removes the risk of HGVs using Crossway Hand, which is not suitable for this level or type of traffic. Jones Brothers are also working with the relevant bus services to maintain access all the way through to McCain’s.

This revised arrangement means that, although works on both sites will continue throughout the period originally planned, only one full closure will be in place at any one time. By shifting the full closure between the two sites, we have been able to keep both programmes of work moving, facilitate the necessary HGV movements safely and maintain the overall programme.

Pedestrian access

Access over King’s Dyke Bridge to McCain’s will remain available during the bridge works, as the full closure is to the west of the bridge and does not include the bridge itself.

During the Anglian Water full closure, the footway on the opposite side of the A605 from the Whittlesey Gate development will remain available. Anglian Water’s contractor has confirmed that provision will be made to maintain the footway, and/or any crossing requirements.

Public information and VMS

We will ensure that the Cambs Traffic information is updated to reflect the revised arrangements and that the project team’s further web update reflects the correct closure and opening times.

We will also liaise with the relevant team regarding the three fixed VMS signs in Whittlesey, two on the A605 and one on the B1040, to provide advance warning of the impending closures.

Follow-up lessons learnt/review meeting

Finally, Bob, our Senior Street Works Inspector, has offered to arrange a follow-up lessons learnt/review meeting with Councillors once the works have concluded.
Potential dates are Thursday 20 August, Friday 21 August, Monday 24 August or Tuesday 25 August. If this would be of interest, please let me know and I will ask Bob to organise this.

Kind regards

James

James Houghton IEng FIHE
Street Works & Permitting Manager (Interim)
Place and Sustainability
Cambridgeshire County Council

The election has been called due to the resignation of the conservative councillor, who would have been none compliant in his attendance.

I encourage as many to vote in this election, some you will see, do not live in Whittlesey and only one candidate Matt Page actually lives in the ward being contested.

Thanks to CCC Cllr Michael Fisher who has been the lead in getting information and action from CCC Highways……Public and we councillors are not experts in structural matters and leave it to those who are qualified….

Good morning Cllr Fisher,
Our design team have now carried out the inspection of Bower Footbridge and noted that overall the bridge is in poor condition and is need of replacement, hence why it is in this year’s programme for reconstruction.
Work is due to start in October with the off-site fabrication of the new bridge already commenced. 

The dates of the installation work are governed by the Mid Level drainage authority requirements to keep the navigation of the watercourse open to river users and the requirements to temporarily divert a UKPN power cable that runs underneath the bridge. 

The main structural supports and bridge parapets are generally sound and we do not believe there is sufficient risk to warrant closing the bridge at this time, taking into account the very long diversion route that would negatively impact on all pedestrians and other non-motorised users. 

In Adam’s absence I shall however be arranging for some more urgent temporary repairs (to be carried out as soon as the contractor can mobilise) which will include the following; 

• Board over or protect the further missing/vandalised parapet spindles at the East end of the bridge;
• Install a temp protection board at the East end (similar to the existing one at the West end) to remove/reduce the trip hazard;
• Re-fix loose deck boards near midspan/at end of temp Ped barrier attached to the parapet. This appears to have been attempted several times so suggest extra long fixings or some over boarding at the joint to secure adjacent boards to each other;
• Screw down or re-fix all protruding fixings in the deck boards. 

In the short term, if you have any further questions or queries please contact me directly as Adam and Gareth are on leave until next week. 

Kind regards
Stephen McGee
Bridge Engineer (Hunts, South & City) – Structures & VRS Team

With kind regards,
Cllr Michael Fisher
CCC Whittlesey South Electoral Division