NATIONAL Highways has confirmed the date that the M4 will close to demolish the condemned A432 Badminton Road bridge.
The motorway will shut between the Bristol and Bath junctions, at Hambrook and Tormarton, from the evening of Friday March 21 until the early morning of Monday March 24, while the bridge is taken apart and removed.
The M4 closure will happen weeks after the start of work on an ‘active travel’ project to install new foot and cycle paths along the A4174 north of Downend, which will involve narrowing lanes and closure of the 2+ lane on the ring road for almost a year.
The bridge is currently open to pedestrians and cyclists but will be completely closed around two weeks before it is demolished, so engineers can remove asbestos pipes from inside.
In a social media video posted by South Gloucestershire Council, National Highways engineering team manager Terry Robinson said the closure would be in place for 60 hours in total, first to move crushing machines onto the motorway and then to remove the edges of the bridge, before allowing it to collapse onto a protective mat covering the carriageway.
The rubble will be crushed and moved off the motorway before being taken away for recycling as aggregate and steel.
Details of the official diversion route had not been published as the Voice went to print, although it is likely to be the same as for last October’s closure, using the M32, A4174, A420 and A46.
The government agency is also expected to publish details of a diversion for pedestrians and cyclists until the replacement bridge is finished in March next year.
National Highways, which is responsible for the bridge, closed it in July 2023, severing the main road between Bristol and Yate.
Engineers found “accelerated deterioration and cracking” in the steel reinforced concrete, which made it unsafe to carry vehicles.
South Gloucestershire Council began work in mid-February to install new foot and cycle paths, bus stops and a 40mph limit along the westbound Avon Ring Road between the Wick Wick roundabout, next to the M4 bridge, and Coldharbour Lane near the UWE Frenchay campus.
The roadworks started with overnight closures of the ring road, as narrowed lanes are set up along the entire length of the roadworks.
A council spokesperson said there were no plans to remove or adjust the narrow lanes on the ring road while the M4 is closed, adding: “We advise people to plan their journeys in advance to avoid any potential disruption.”
The spokesperson said the lane restrictions and closures would be kept in place along the entire length of the A4174 being worked on, rather than being implemented in stages.
The work is expected to continue until December or January.
The council said: “These improvements aim to enhance facilities for buses, pedestrians, cyclists, and wheelchair users. By providing more travel options, there will be less traffic on the roads for those people who do need to travel by car.
“These changes are part of a wider regional programme to make walking, public transport and cycling not only viable, but the preferred way of getting around – especially for shorter journeys.
“We understand that these works will cause disruption, and we appreciate your patience as we carry out this important project. Our priority is to minimise delays wherever possible, but safety for the public and our workforce must come first.”