The council has “sincerely apologised for the inconvenience”
File image of traffic queuing at the slip road next to the A38 flyover, Filton, where drivers complained of huge queues this summer(Image: Google Maps)
The chaotic closure of the A38 Gloucester Road flyover could cause a monumental headache for parents at the start of the school year. Maintenance works on the major route, which links the M5 and Bristol, were originally meant to finish on August 31.
Now they are not expected to finish until the end of the first week of September, at least a week later than originally forecast.
The flyover has been completely closed throughout August for maintenance work, causing huge delays for motorists. The point of doing the work in August, according to South Gloucestershire Council, was to minimise disruption during school holidays.
However, the council has now confirmed the road is not expected to reopen until September 8, causing a clash with children going back to school on September 2. A council spokesperson said the extension to the work was “due to complications caused by delayed delivery of the replacement expansion joint.”
The flyover’s position near major employers such as Airbus, Rolls Royce and Royal Mail is likely to only add to the September pain as parents return to work after summer holidays.
“Despite our best efforts, we regret to inform you that the A38 over the Gloucester Road Flyover will not reopen as planned on Sunday 31 August,” the council wrote on Facebook.
“The work to replace the expansion joints is now expected to be completed next week with the road due to reopen by Monday 8 September.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by these essential works. This maintenance work is crucial to ensure the long-term safety and usability of the structure for future generations.”
The flyover closure coincided with several other major works taking place on roads managed by South Gloucestershire Council this summer. Bradley Stoke Way was severely disrupted, and the busy junction between the A4174 Ring Road and Coldharbour Lane has also been closed.
The series of concurrent closures led to chaos on the roads earlier this summer, with some motorists reporting 20-minute journeys were taking up to three hours after contractors mistakenly closed a road in Filton, which should have been acting as a diversion route for the flyover.
The severity of the issues caused prompted an intervention from Filton and Bradley Stoke MP Claire Hazelgrove, and an apology from the council.
In a subsequent letter in reply to Ms Hazelgrove, the council said: “The pressures currently facing our local highway network are not isolated – they are the cumulative result of decades of insufficient government investment in infrastructure maintenance and renewal, often driven by a policy emphasis on keeping taxation low.
“In addition, successive Governments have introduced regulatory frameworks for privatised utilities that, to varying degrees, have enabled shareholder dividends to be prioritised over long-term investment in infrastructure.”