Frequently Asked Questions
What is happening?
In July 2014, the Government announced funding for the Stafford Western Access Route project as part of a £82.2 million growth deal for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. As part of this, funding was allocated for the Stafford Western Access Route.
The Stafford Western Access Route is a 1.2km single carriageway road, with a 3.5 metre shared footway/cycleway providing a new road that will connect the A518 Newport Road via Martin Drive, Castlefields to the A34 Foregate Street, together with a range of sustainable transport measures.
Why do we need the Stafford Western Access Route?
Stafford has been labelled as a 'Growth Point' for the West Midlands. The town's economy and population are set to grow due to housing, business and retail development.
Stafford Western Access Route will provide additional highway capacity to the west of Stafford and will enable the removal of through traffic from the town centre, creating improved conditions for bus services, pedestrians and cyclists. It is also essential to the delivery of housing, new business and leisure development.
Why have you chosen this route?
During a public consultation in 2009 we explored four possible routes. The current design will result in the least impact on Stafford during the construction phase, will benefit local residents and has the least impact on the environment. At the public consultation into the Stafford Western Access Route this route was backed by the majority of respondents.
In May 2010, Staffordshire County Council gave approval for the Stafford Western Access Route and was subsequently included in the Stafford Borough Local Plan, which was adopted in June 2014.
What work has already been done?
The following works have been completed, in advance of the main road works;
- Flood compensation scheme at Doxey Marshes,
- Piling trials at Doxey Road car park,
- Junction improvements on the A34 Foregate Street,
- New traffic regulation orders in Castlefields,
- Utility and electric power diversions,
- Compulsory Purchase Orders required formally confirmed.
What work is still to take place?
- Installation of traffic signal-controlled junctions at Foregate Street and Madford Retail Park,
- Construction of a new bridge over the River Sow with six span viaduct and piled embankment between Greyfriars Place and Doxey Road
- Building 870m of new road and roundabouts along Doxey Road adjacent Doxey Road Car Park and former Saint Gobain site
- Building 330m of new road linking Doxey Road to Martin Drive/Rose Hill including modifications to existing roundabout at Martin Drive/Rose Hill
- Creating pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities along the routes
- Carrying out service diversions and when will the work start and how long will it take? - The proposed start date is early August 2019, with some advance mobilisation works during July 2019. All the works are planned to be complete in autumn 2021.
What are the piling works?
The piling works will take place between Greyfriars Place and Doxey Road and consist of two types following public consultation and test piling.
- Pre-cast driven piles – where deeper piles are required for engineering requirements
- Bored displacement piles – when closer to properties
How many piles will you be installing?
There will be a total of 1,580 piles installed for the viaduct and embankment foundations.
How long will the piling take?
The piling works will take place approximately between August 2019 and March 2020.
Bored displacement piles in Castletown starting in July 2019 for three months and Madford Retail Park starting in October 2019 for three months.
Pre-cast driven piles at the River Sow to Castletown August 2019 for five months.
What are the working hours for the piling activities?
The piling works will be only permitted between the hours of 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and on Saturday between the hours of 8:30am and 1pm.
No piling works will take place at night time or on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
What level of noise and vibration should I expect?
Unfortunately, there will be noise created by the piling works that cannot be avoided. This will be monitored by our noise engineers to ensure that the noise is kept at an acceptable level and within specification.
What about the impact on the residents living nearby?
- There will be no driven piles within 80m of Castletown properties, however this will be subjected to outcome of the test piles.
- There will be no piling works within 30m of Castletown properties.
How will the scheme deal with flooding?
The new road will be on viaduct (similar to the A34 Queensway) through Pans Drive. As part of the design development our engineers have reviewed flood plain modelling information to determine the clearance required and is modelled over the 1 in 100 year flood level.
What is the proposed green space in front of Doxey Service road?
The area of land in front of Doxey Service Road will be planted to screen the new road from the fronting properties at Castletown. The proposals are indicated on the drawing linked to below:
What impact will it have on Doxey Marshes?
Of course, with any major scheme extensive environmental assessment reports are being carried out as part of the planning application process. This preferred option skirts the very edge of the marsh and to compensate for this we plan to reinstate a currently destroyed piece of the marshland.
We will also plan to create a visitors’ recreation area for people to come and enjoy the marshes more.
How much will it cost?
It is estimated that the construction costs of delivering the scheme, which will be around £30 million and the costs will be shared between partners and developers.
Investment in the access road will:
- Support the economic growth of the town
- Help ease congestion through the town centre
- Support the development of much needed new homes
- Improve road safety and reduce journey times
- Reduce congestion around Stafford station and Chell Road
- Provide improved sustainable transport measures on Chell Road
What will be the impact on people living close to the proposed route?
We have chosen a design which will have the least impact on communities and in fact residents living closest to part of the route will see the road moved further away from the frontages of their homes.
Who is doing the work?
Amey Highways are the principal contractor. A local call in centre is proposed to aid the local community with any questions or concerns.
We will carry out regular communication updates as the works progress.
Where can I find out more?
You can find out more by contacting the project team at staffordwestern.accessroute@staffordshire.gov.uk.