Sprint: Bus priority corridors for reliable, greener and better connected journeysNewsletter - March 2021 Our Sprint animation shows the stages involved in constructing the Sprint Corridor, and what you can expect to see happening during the works...
Headlines this month: Carry on reading for further information on these stories or for more details of the Sprint project visit our website. Construction work begins on the A45 Barriers have now been installed along the Small Heath Highway which has allowed main construction work to start on the A45 by our construction partner Morgan Sindall Infrastructure. This work was delayed by the closure of the A34 Stratford Road near to Bordesley Circus due to problems with a water main. The barrier will remain in place for most of the next year to allow the installation of new and extended bus lanes and this will mean some disruption for road users during this time. - To find out where Sprint works are taking place, please visit the West Midlands Network Sprint Page. Work is also expected to begin along the Walsall Road in Birmingham once a main contractor for the A34 has been appointed. An announcement is expected towards the end of the month. Last month we announced that National Express West Midlands will run a fleet of zero-emission buses, including hydrogen-powered vehicles on the route from May 2022. Funding for the £88m first phase of Birmingham's first uninterrupted cross-city bus priority route, includes contributions of £42 million from the WMCA investment fund and £35 million from the Department for Transport. Tree Planting and Removal We have now completed the tree removal programme for the first phase of works on the A34. This included 14 trees from along the Walsall Road between Perry Barr station and the Scott Arms junction, and 9 trees from along the Birmingham Road (5 in Sandwell and 4 in Walsall). All work was carried out with the approval of the Local Authority Tree Officer and completed before the start of the bird nesting season at the beginning of the month. Logs and wood chippings from the removed trees were delivered by our contractors to 3 local allotments along the A34. We would like to thank the allotments for their flexibility in making these deliveries possible. The next step is the planting of more than 1,000 trees along the Sprint corridor which is a key commitment of the project. We have already engaged with local councillors and residents and received suggestions of where this planting might take place to help enhance the local area. The first trees have already been planted in Walsall. Tree planting on the A45 in Birmingham is due to begin at the end of March. Shelter Installation The first shelter installation is all set to begin starting along the Birmingham section of the A34. The new shelter design is a little larger than standard bus stops and will include CCTV cameras. All new shelters meet the Local Authority’s highway safety criteria. The work will be carried out in three phases beginning with the removal of the existing shelter. Utilities – such as communications cabling – will either be relocated or replaced followed by a temporary reinstatement of the footway and shelter area, with an interim shelter installed where appropriate. The new shelter will then be installed at a later date as part of other works in the area. Over 95 enhanced bus shelters - designed specifically to improve both the comfort and safety of bus users - will be introduced along the route, offering easy access to vehicles, reducing the time the bus needs to spend at a stop and allowing for more reliable onward travel to key destinations. Planned Activity This Month · Main contractor announcement for works on the A34 · Beginning the full tree planting programme. · Mobilising the site compound along the A34 Walsall Road at Tamebridge Industrial Estate off Aldridge Road and Miller Street You’re up to dateThanks for taking the time to stay updated on the Sprint project. We will issue newsletters as and when we have new information to share. If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch with us using the contact details below. Tel: 0345 303 6760, option 2, then option 3. Please contact us if you require material provided in an alternative language. You can request hard copies or a different format,of this newsletter by using the contact details shown above. If you received this newsletter, you will have either expressed an interest in being kept-up-to-date on Sprint, or we will have identified you as benefiting from it. If you no longer wish to receive Sprint related correspondence such as this, or you would like to receive information on our other two Sprint schemes, please get in touch. |