Frequently asked questions for the A432 Badminton Road M4 overbridge closure

UPDATED 2 August 2023

National Highways has closed a section of the A432 Badminton Road to carry out detailed structural investigations of the M4 bridge adjacent to the A4174 ring road.  

For the most up to date information on this closure visit our A432 Badminton Road M4 overbridge closure page and social media accounts on Twitter and  Facebook. You can also sign up to our newsletter for residents.

Why is One Network showing the closure until February 2024?

The One Network system requires an end date. National Highways will have inputted a notional period of time. We would expect the end date to be updated once more is known about the extent of the deterioration of the bridge.

For information about the bridge investigations, you can contact National Highways by email at info@nationalhighways.co.uk or 0300 123 5000.

Who do I contact about the bridge investigations and the length of the work?

National Highways are responsible for the bridge over the M4, the investigations and length of work. They can be contacted on info@nationalhighways.co.uk or 0300 123 5000.

More information is also available on the National Highways website.

What is happening to bus services?

Buses cannot go over the bridge, they have been diverted to other routes. For the latest route and timetable information visit the Travelwest bus information website.

Will you reopen the right turn at Hambrook lights?

We are not going to remove the restrictions as we see the arrangements in place are the most efficient way of moving traffic through the junction along the ring road, as we did during the disruption associated with the Bromley Heath Viaduct works.

Opening the right turn will increase the number of stages and the cycle time of the junction. This together with the increased usage from the A432 closure will have a detrimental effect on the journey times across the junction.

We must balance the traffic flows based on the volumes from all routes.  Our traffic signals operate MOVA technology that allows them to adapt to traffic flows and adjust the timings accordingly. This is continually monitored by our traffic signals team and revalidated when required to maximise efficiency.

We also currently have an air quality legal directive imposed from Central Government on this section of the A4174.  As the closure of the right turn is a measure to improve the air quality, any reversal would have to be authorised by the relevant Central Government bodies subject to the provision of evidence demonstrating that air quality would not be compromised.

Whilst we accept that sections of the road network will be used, we still recommend using the official diversion as publicised.

More information is available on our consultation website regarding the Air Quality Action measures that are in place at the Hambrook junction.

What is happening at Coalsack Lane, Ruffet Road and Cooks Lane?

We have closed Coalsack Lane, Ruffet Road and Cooks Lane to all traffic except pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. Access to properties within these closures is maintained via alternative routes.

This is necessary following reports of incidents and near misses at the junctions with Westerleigh Road (B4465) and in the narrow lanes themselves.  This was also witnessed in on-site monitoring undertaken by council officers. This will remain in place for the foreseeable future. There is no intention to make these restrictions permanent.

Have you considered making these roads one-way temporarily rather than closing them completely?

Yes, we understand the benefits one-way working could bring, however in our experience we have found them particularly difficult to enforce.  As space is required to allow a vehicle to enter or exit the one-way, we find that some motorists ignore this and drive against the one-way system.  This presents obvious dangers as motorists using the one-way correctly may be confronted by a motorist heading towards them.  This is particularly dangerous on bends where visibility can be limited.

Will you close other local roads?

We are monitoring the network to see where we might need to intervene. We will do this quickly and implement emergency traffic management measures if necessary.

Why can’t Elderflower Drive in Lyde Green be opened to help alleviate the traffic?

We will not be opening Elderflower Drive as this would quickly become an inappropriate cut-through for vehicles to and from the ring road.  It has also not yet been formally adopted by the council.  The part of Henfield Road it leads to will also formally be closed to permanently prevent this cut through in future.  More information is available on our consultations website.

Large Heavy Goods Vehicles are ignoring local weight restrictions and using unsuitable routes. What are you doing about this?

Enforcement of the local weight limits is a matter for the Police.  We are liaising with them to see how some enforcement can be accommodated.

Lots of Heavy Goods Vehicles are using Down Road since the bridge has been closed. It is unsuitable for these types of vehicles particularly because of the Damsons Bridge. What are you doing about this?

We are aware of a small number of incidents involving Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) using this route.  At present Down Road is not subject to a weight restriction, therefore HGVs can use it. We try to discourage this by using the yellow signs. We are continuing to monitor this and how best to deal with it.  Should a weight restriction be implemented it would need to be enforced by the Police.

Where you have installed temporary lights at Henfield Road junction, why can’t you give more green time to the local side roads?

The traffic lights recently installed on the B4465 Westerleigh Road are for safety purposes due to the increased amount of traffic using the B4465 and the resulting fewer opportunities to safely exit from Henfield Road. The traffic lights are intended to provide safe opportunity to exit Henfield Road, but are not there to assist the flow of traffic for motorists who are not following the official diversion route.

The B4465 remains the main route and so traffic along this road will have priority at the traffic lights. Increasing the time allowed for traffic to exit from Henfield Road is likely to cause delays at peak-times to other routes connecting to the B4465, such as the A4174, and encourage further inappropriate use of Henfield Road.

We actively encourage all motorists to use the official diversion route which is A432, B4059, A432, A46, B4465, A4174 and vice versa.

Who do I speak to about the impact of these works on the local road network?

You can contact our StreetCare team on A432bridgeclosure@southglos.gov.uk or 01454 868000.

What can I do?

Please use the official diversion routes as publicised.

You might want to consider alternative ways to travel while the Badminton Road overbridge is closed to traffic.

The bridge remains open to pedestrians and cyclists. If you need help getting back into cycling, we have a number of free Dr Bike sessions to get your bike up and running and free adult cycling courses, find out more and book online.

Further support is available for anyone wanting to give cycling a try. Through betterbybike.info you can borrow a loan bike.

The Y1 bus runs every half an hour from Chipping Sodbury to Bristol via Yate, Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne.

There are trains every half hour during the week from Yate to Filton Abbeywood, Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads.

Find out more and plan your journey at Travelwest.

You might also consider car sharing. This can make your journey to work more sociable and cheaper. The website JoinMyJourney.org can help you find people to share your commuting journey with.