M4 closures from M32 to M5 2 March - 25 April

If only Highways England and the Council could co-ordinate what they are doing. Just when Gypsy Patch Bridge works have closed the Beacon Lane / Gypsy Patch east west route, the M4 is going to be closed too from the M32 to M5 - so the A4174 will be the key route..... Thankfully the motorway closure is only night time. 

Here is the Highways England M4 resurfacing scheme announcement. 

We have been advised of disruption on the M4 in our area from Monday 2 March to Saturday 25 April. Highways England will be carrying out resurfacing of the eastbound carriageway between Junction 19 (M32) and 20 (M5) and overnight road closures and lane closures will be in place throughout the works. 

The details below have been provided by Highways England, which is responsible for the motorways, and further inquiries will need to be directed to them. 

Works will be carried out in a series of five phases. Please note all road works will be undertaken Monday to Friday overnight between 8pm and 6am. During the day the carriageway will be open as usual. There will be no works on Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Phase 1: 2 March to 2 April 2020

M4 westbound mainline carriageway will be closed prior to J19 offslip through to J20

Diversion in place via M32, A4174, A38 and M5 J16. Please note lane closures will be in place on the M32.

Phase 2: 2 to 7 April 2020

M4 westbound lane closures only

Phase 3: 7 to 10 April 2020

M4 westbound J20 off-slip will be closed, there will be no access to the M5 southbound and northbound link roads. 

Diversion in place via M4 westbound, circulate at J22 to rejoin M4 eastbound and exit at J20 off-slip.

Phase 4: 14 to 19 April 2020

M4 westbound mainline carriageway closed after J20 off-slip.

Diversion in place via M5 southbound, circulate at J16 to join M5 northbound, exit at J15 to rejoin M4 westbound.

Phase 5: 20 to 25 April 2020

M4 westbound mainline closure after J20 off-slip. There will be no access to link roads to M5 north and southbound or M4 westbound. 

M32 closures

From 20th March for 11 weeks there will be night time southbound closures of the M32 to enable the central reservation barrier over the Eastville Viaduct to be replaced.

To try to minimise disruption, the contractors will carry out the work between 8pm and 6am Monday to Friday, so the M32 will remain open in both directions during the day. At night the southbound carriageway will be completely closed. There may also be times when they need to close a section of the northbound carriageway too, but these times are not yet finalised. They will be liasing with contractors on other nearby projects, such as MetroBus.

Unfortunately they won't be able to lift the 40mph restrictions when this work is complete because futher work needs to be carried out on the viaduct parapets.

If you have any queries or comments about the works and would like further information, please contact the Highways England Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 or by email: info@highwaysengland.co.uk.

Works on M32 to extend bus lane

Road works to extend the M32 bus lane into Bristol are planned to start before the end of September. The existing south bound bus lane is being extended from Junction 3 to the railway bridge that crosses the motorway.

MetroBus's contractors will also be removing and replacing the central reservation, upgrading drainage and ducting, and installing Average Speed Cameras. The road works and improvements will take seven months and will finish in Spring 2017.

To minimise disruption the M32 will still be open whilst the road works take place, but there will be evenings when motorists will be diverted at Junction 3 via the slip roads on and off the motorway. There will also be two narrow lanes in both directions at Junction 3 for the installation of the south bound bus lane.

After work for the south bound bus lane has finished there will still be two lanes for general traffic in each direction.

Planning your journeys

The Travelwest website contains up to date travel information about road works in the West of England region:

Highways England also provides live traffic information for the motorway network via their website at www.highways.gov.uk/traffic or from a phone or mobile device at m.highways.gov.uk

Improving public transport

Extending the M32 bus lane will speed up bus journeys for MetroBus passengers, it will also mean quicker journeys for passengers on other bus services that use the motorway. Improving the reliability of bus services will encourage more people to leave their cars at home, reducing congestion for everyone.

The bus lane is part of a number of bus priority improvements that will make some bus journeys between the University of the West of England, Bradley Stoke and the city centre up to 30 minutes quicker. These improvements are for MetroBus, a smarter way of travelling that will speed up bus journey times, relieve congestion and reduce levels of pollution. MetroBus services will start in Autumn 2017.