|
Work is progressing well on Solihull Council’s major transport infrastructure project, the Lode Lane Enhancement Scheme.
The works comprise amendments to Lode Lane from Dovehouse Lane to Warwick Road to establish a bus lane and shared use footway/cycleway.
 |
|
Dovehouse Lane to Rowood Drive
Rowood Drive to the A41 Solihull By-pass
Solihull Bypass to Solihull Hospital
Warwick Road cul-de-sac to Poplar Road
|
The new bus lane on Lode Lane is due to be opened in stages starting in mid-March 2016. The first section to open will be between the Canal Bridge and Rowood Drive, with the section in front of the hospital opening at the end of March.
Work will commence in March on Phase 2 of the scheme on the section between Rowood Drive and Solihull Bypass, with the bus lane in this section expected to be open in June.
Once completed, the bus lane will greatly improve the access for public transport into the town centre of Solihull. The improvements on Lode Lane will reduce journey time for the 3,500 commuters who use the route daily and will be a major boost for public transport and cyclists, part of encouraging greener, more sustainable travel for Solihull.
What's happening at the moment?
 Segment D
Work in this Segment, the closest geographically to Solihull town centre, is almost complete.
Completion of the
carriageway construction and road marking (which will also include re-surfacing
a section of Lode Lane) will be carried out during the week commencing 22 February.
The re-surfacing will commence on Monday 22 February at 7pm and is expected to be completed by Saturday 27 February at 6am. To minimise disruption and inconvenience to
adjacent residents, businesses and public transport the work will be taking
place during night time operations on the following schedule:
- A closure of Old
Warwick Road from 7pm onwards each night
- Temporary lane closures between
Warwick Road and Touchwood Hall Close from 8pm – 10pm each night
- A temporary full closure between
Warwick Road and Touchwood Hall Close from 8pm – 10pm each night
In the week commencing 29 February, the Council's contractor Siemens will be returning to
complete the signalisation of the Warwick Road/Poplar Road junction.
The kerbs at the exit
slip onto Lode Lane have been modified which will improve the exit for buses onto Lode Lane.
|
 Segment C
Since Christmas, utility companies have been undertaking service
diversions in the footway between Keresley Close and the Solihull Hospital
entrance, as well as along the hospital frontage. BT
is due to complete their diversion works by the end of February.
The new kerb line opposite Touchwood Hall Close as well as north
of Grove Road up to Solihull Bypass has been realigned and the footway widened between
Grove Road and Seven Star Road.
The
new kerbs for the revised pedestrian refuge have also been installed. The
footway surfacing on this refuge will be complete by 19 February.
The
next work to be undertaken in this Segment will be the reconstruction of the
carriageway in the hospital entrance, which will begin in the week commencing
22 February. A retaining
wall along the Solihull Hospital boundary is being installed this week.
The
resurfacing of the carriageway in Segment C will be carried out during night
time operations in the week commencing 28 March.
|
 Segment B (Phase 2)
The original proposal for this Segment, which comprises the second Phase of the overall scheme, was to create a new bus lane between
Lighthorne Road and Hermitage Road. This would reduce current traffic lanes on
Lode Lane to 3m (10ft) in both directions.
Some concern was raised during
consultation over whether drivers waiting to turn right into Buryfield Road
from Lode Lane would delay following traffic if the current right-turn facility
was removed to provide the new bus lane.
The Council undertook a traffic management trial in September 2015 which enabled the potential effects of
this change to be tested on the ground.
It was observed that the trial
had only a negligible impact on journey times. However, an alternative scheme has now been developed and was approved at a decision session on Wednesday 7 January 2016 by the Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways.
This scheme will still adopt the
same principles originally put forward by installing a bus lane. It will also
provide a dedicated right turn lane into Buryfield Road and will widen the
existing footway fronting 123 – 127 Lode Lane from 1.3m to 2.5m. The latter
will significantly improve the safe route to school of children in the area.
Work to divert utilities and other
preparatory work is due to start mid-March.
|
 Segment A
Following detailed investigation, the condition of the canal bridge in Segment A was found to be worse than expected. This means that it will be necessary to restrict movement over the bridge’s carriageway until work underneath the bridge has been completed. As part of this work the bridge will be brought up to current standards and will be future-proofed in order to accommodate future public transport requirements on this route.
This work is expected to be complete by the end of summer 2016. It will have no effect on motorists crossing the bridge as all current lanes will remain open.
As a result of this, the section of Segment A from Dovehouse Lane to the canal bridge will remain as it is until the bridge works are completed, and the bus lane will commence south of the canal bridge.
Elsewhere in Segment A, since January, the removal of a tree stump has seen the completion of the footway widening.
The next steps will see the upgrading of the existing pelican crossing adjacent to Henley Crescent. The slurry sealing of the footway is currently being undertaken and the carriageway re-surfacing and road marking adjustment is programmed for the week commencing 7 March.
To minimise
disruption and inconvenience to adjacent residents, businesses and public
transport the work will be taking place during night time operations only, with
closures between 10pm – 6am.
For more information about the Lode Lane Enhancement Scheme, visit:
www.solihull.gov.uk/lodelane
For more information about Transport and Highways in Solihull, visit:
www.solihull.gov.uk/transport
|
