10,764 gullies emptied, 1,020,275 sqm urban grass cut, 6,570
defect repairs, 4,521 spray injection patching
repairs, 73 gritting runs.
“The Wycombe Area is in the heart of the busiest part of
Buckinghamshire’s network, being close to several motorway connections and
major rail links.
During
2018-19 we accommodated several major third party works, such as the work on
the Wycombe Master Plan and improvements by Highways England on parts of their
network. There was the removal and replacement of the A404 Volvo Footbridge,
the A404 surfacing and relining, and the major M40 resurfacing which saw the
Handy Cross junction closed for several consecutive weekends.
I’m
thankful to my whole team for working so closely with Kier, who were carrying
out the resurfacing, to work collaboratively and try and lessen the impact on
businesses and residents. This included trying to ensure the nearby historic
bridge at Marlow stayed safe from overweight vehicles tempted to use it as a
diversion round the works, which wasn’t always easy. The team has pulled
together through a challenging year, to deliver the plane and patch programme
and another successful winter season.”
Wayne Pickford, Area Manager, Handy Cross
In Detail: Marlow Obelisk Renovations
In August
2018 Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB) carried out a major restoration of the
Marlow Obelisk, a grade II listed way-marker erected in 1822, which had fallen
into disrepair in recent years.
The work, which took around four weeks to complete under night closures, was carried out by specialist contractors in order to best restore the antique stonework. Additional drainage work was also carried out around the bottom of the Obelisk to stop the ingress of water which is speeding up the deterioration.
The restoration of the obelisk was long awaited for the
town, and was delayed due to practical concerns, particularly the congestion
that it would create on local roads. Briefly, the removal of the Obelisk off-site was considered, before deciding that overnight working on the structure in
situ was the most feasible option and less of a risk to the delicate, almost
200-year-old structure.
The
project was the result of a long collaboration between Transport for
Buckinghamshire, Wycombe District Council and Marlow Town Council, with support
from the Marlow Society. The work itself was carried out by TfB’s supply chain
partner Company of Artisans (Stonemasonry Renovation Specialist).
Interestingly, the restoration work revealed a noticeable colour difference between the main
section of the structure, made of Portland limestone, and the topmost section
leading to the point, which is sandstone. These contrasting materials have
different properties and had to be repaired, cleaned and treated differently,
exposing the original colour difference.
The
limestone was treated with a protective substance called ‘shelter coat’, which
couldn’t be used on the sandstone section as it could actually accelerate the
decay process. The inscription panels on the lower part of the obelisk
were repaired using lime mortar, which matches the colour and texture of the
underlying stone.
The work also revealed that there was originally a pump in front of
the obelisk for public use, and it was found that the well and some of the
pumping equipment is still present below ground.
Deputy
Leader and Transport Cabinet Member, Mark Shaw commented at the time:
"The
completion of the restoration of Marlow Obelisk has been greatly anticipated
and I think residents of Marlow will be really pleased with the end result. The
obelisk has been restored to its former glory and really does look
fantastic!"
In Brief: Working with residents solves flooding
mysteries
In May the drainage team assessed a chronic flooding issue on Manor Park Avenue, Great Missenden. After an investigation into the problem they discovered an open ditch which doesn’t appear on any plans was the cause of the floods. The works to improve the drainage involved working in the driveway of one of the properties – luckily the resident was extremely cooperative and grateful, because the ditch was also causing flooding to their garden.
In May the drainage team assessed a chronic flooding issue on Manor Park Avenue, Great Missenden. After an investigation into the problem they discovered an open ditch which doesn’t appear on any plans was the cause of the floods. The works to improve the drainage involved working in the driveway of one of the properties – luckily the resident was extremely cooperative and grateful, because the ditch was also causing flooding to their garden.
Flooding on Manor Park Avenue, Gt Missenden
Drainage works went through a resident’s driveway…
In
a similar situation, after heavy rainfall at the end of May 2018, residents at
Bryants Bottom, Greatt Missenden, were suffering flooding. Once more, the
investigation and solution involved disruption to driveways but the work was
greatly appreciated:
“Your suggestion of raising the threshold and installing curbing alongside our property to divert water back onto the road seems perfect and it will certainly relieve us of huge amounts of worry (about our neighbours houses in particular) every time it rains.”
“Your suggestion of raising the threshold and installing curbing alongside our property to divert water back onto the road seems perfect and it will certainly relieve us of huge amounts of worry (about our neighbours houses in particular) every time it rains.”
“It's great to see the
driveways work starting in Bryant’s Bottom this week, building on the recent
borehole work outside our house, and the work on ditches/gullies further up the
road. Many thanks for all of your help
in getting this work done; it is much appreciated by the affected residents and
the whole village.”
–
Emails from residents at Bryants Bottom
Works ongoing, and the end result – solving flooding issues at Bryants Bottom
In Brief: Bollard schemes improve quality of life for residents – and offer value for money
At the beginning of 2019, several bollard and dropped kerb schemes were carried out across the Wycombe and South Bucks area – the individual works were designed and planned as one big scheme, because they all fell within a 30 minute driving radius. This offered excellent value for money to the taxpayer and meant that we could install more bollards than the parishes requested at two of the four sites.
On Stony Lane, Little Chalfont, the verge and
some of the kerb had eroded due to large lorries turning in from Amersham road
– four bollards were installed.
Stony Lane verge, before and after the bollard installation
On Herbert Road, High Wycombe, cars parking on the grass verge opposite the shops was affecting visibility at the Micklefield Road junction – nine bollards were installed.
On Roebuck Avenue, High Wycombe, the grass
verge opposite the bus stop had been destroyed by vehicles parking and
residents could no longer safely cross the road at this site, and the bus stop
was also obstructed– eight bollards were installed.
In Farnham Royal, four pairs of dropped kerbs
were installed in Langton’s Meadow with two kerb realignments, pathway
reconstruction with double height kerbing, and pedestrians guard rails. This
scheme was requested to help disabled users access the high street.
Langton’s
Meadow, before and after kerb works
In Brief: Major safety improvements on the A40 at Stokenchurch and West Wycombe
In November, TfB began work to design and implement a scheme to improve safety on a 9.2km section of the A40, between Stokenchurch and West Wycombe. It had been identified through collision data as a high risk stretch of road, and funding for the scheme came from a nationwide government fund of £175million to improve the safety of 50 of the highest risk A road sections in England.
The
work spanned several months, as the measures were extensive, including adding
new anti-skid surfacing and red surfacing to increase road surface grip at
approaching major junctions or bends, and improve visibility, as well as
vegetation clearance and refreshing
existing road markings.
Solar
studs were also installed within the un-lit sections on A40 with 60mph speed
limit, and road signs and bollards were upgraded. Safety improvements were also
made for pedestrians, including improving visibility on a Zebra crossing, and
modernising the Pelican crossing. A pedestrian refuge island was added at the
junction, and the existing footway was extended.
The year in brief across the whole county: Following a very tough winter in 2017-18, which resulted in a sharp increase in defects, TfB began 2018-19 by delivering a £2 million plane and patch programme countywide. The work began as soon as the weather got milder in late March, and was organised with local Members to decide on the roads and sites to repair.
The capital maintenance programme (major works such as resurfacing) was mainly carried out over the summer months – over 120km (or 796,000sqm) of road resurfacing was laid; 3,295 old style streetlights were upgraded to LED and 100 solar powered bollards were installed. 23 major drainage improvement schemes were carried out, as were: 10 structures schemes; nine road safety schemes, and five Intelligent Transport Systems (i.e. signals) schemes.
In total, 38,000 gullies were emptied, over 20,000 defects were repaired and over 3 million square metres of grass was cut. The gritting season started unseasonably early on the 26th October and lasted well into April, but – while long – the winter was milder overall.
Read more: Our Year in Aylesbury Vale, and Our Year in Chiltern & South Bucks.
