Traffic Management
It is inevitable that the work being carried out will have a major impact on traffic using the corridor and across Stafford. Radford Bank, in particular, is a very traffic-sensitive route which is very susceptible to congestion and delays, even when there are no roadworks going on.
Baswich Double Mini Roundabouts Junction
The first area with traffic management in operation will be the double mini roundabouts at the top of Radford Bank.
There will be various phases of traffic management here, to provide access to different areas of the junction.
Mostly the work will be carried out without traffic signals, with the road widths restricted by coning to provide small working areas. Traffic will not be able to flow as freely as usual but it should keep moving.
Short-term one-way closures at Baswich Lane, Weeping Cross and Wildwood Drive are also planned. These should have less impact on the road network than temporary traffic signals. This phase is expected to be in operation for 9 weeks.
The traffic management may need to include a phase where four-way traffic lights are in operation. If this is the case, although the working lengths are short, the delays to traffic will be considerable.
Road closure - Baswich Double Mini Roundabouts Junction
Final planing and surfacing works at the Weeping Cross junction will need to be carried out under a full road closure for safety reasons.
This will be carried out at night, to reduce the traffic impact.
Signed diversion routes will be in operation but unfortunately these will be quite long.
During the daytime, the traffic management system will be as operated before the road closure.
This work will be carried out in September/October while the one-way closure on Radford Bank is in operation.
Radford Bank
While work is taking place at the eastern end of Radford Bank, two-way running will be possible.
A one-way system will operate on Radford Bank when works are taking place on the narrow section between the eastern end of Radford Rise and Windsor Road. This will mean that traffic is only able to travel towards Stafford town centre. This arrangement is expected to be in operation from the start of September.
A diversion route will be in operation for the opposite flow. Unfortunately, due to the lack of alternative routes of an acceptable standard, the signed diversion route will be long.
This phase is expected to be in operation for around 18 weeks.
Baswich Lane
It is expected that, during the one-way closure, displaced local traffic will use the northern end of Baswich Lane to avoid the congestion caused by the roadworks. This length of road is twisty and includes narrow weight-restricted bridges with poor visibility and there is an increased potential for road traffic accidents in this situation.
Temporary traffic signals will be employed on this end of Baswich Lane. This may delay traffic but it will be safer to use and will reduce the chance of accidents causing blockages on the road network.
Queensville, Queensville Railway Bridge and Lichfield Road
There will be Saturday night lane closures on Queensville Bridge starting in June 2024, while bridge maintenance work is carried out under Network Rail track possessions. Temporary traffic lights will be in operation from late on Saturday nights but these will be removed early on Sunday mornings.
The main works in this area are expected to take place in early 2025.
Traffic management plans are still being developed for the A34 corridor to the west of Queensville roundabout. It is likely that these will also include a one-way system but in this case the diversion route would be more obvious; using Silkmore Lane and Wolverhampton Road.