Initial preparations for the first phase of the Woolwell to The George transport scheme are due to get under way in a few weeks.
Phase 1 will include walking and cycling improvements on Woolwell Road, new cycling facilities on Tavistock Road (north of Woolwell Roundabout) and a new signalised junction where Woolwell Crescent meets Tavistock Road.
We have appointed Balfour Beatty to carry out the scheme preparation works. Site clearance will get under way on Monday 13 February to get the area ready for construction works later in the year and will include the removal of trees and vegetation on the east bank along Tavistock Road (between Woolwell Crescent and Woolwell Roundabout) and along Woolwell Road.
As part of the Phase 1 construction works, we will be building a retaining wall on the east side of Tavistock Road. This will allow us to provide widened and improved walking and cycling facilities north of Woolwell Roundabout while avoiding any impact on properties on the west side. We will also be widening Woolwell Road to build shared pedestrian and cycle paths on both sides.
All of the necessary environmental impact assessment work has been carried out, including arboricultural and ecological surveys and there will be an ecologist on site during these works.
The bank will be replanted after construction works are complete and, although there are some site constraints meaning some of this will be in other areas of the scheme as well as off-site locations, we are fully committed to planting more trees and vegetation than we remove.
Detailed landscaping plans are still being developed but replacement tree and shrub planting will be a priority across the whole Woolwell to The George scheme area.
The site clearance is expected to take around five weeks to complete. To carry out these works safely, some lane closures will be needed but only during off-peak hours (9.30am to 3.30pm) between Monday and Friday. These will be on the southbound side of Tavistock Road, from Woolwell Crescent to Woolwell Roundabout.
Some footpaths will also be closed for safety reasons but alternative pedestrian routes will be provided.
A temporary contractor compound and storage area will be provided on an area of Council-owned land in Eco Way, just off Woolwell Crescent. We will start setting up this area from Monday 6 February. It will be fenced and returned to its original condition on completion of the works.
There will be some traffic restrictions on Woolwell Road for up to two weeks from Monday 20 February but, again, only during off-peak hours.
Vehicles will not be able to travel westbound from the Towerfield Drive roundabout towards Tavistock Road (along Woolwell Road) and there will be no left turn out of Woolwell Drive. Traffic will instead be directed along Woolwell Crescent to join the A386 Tavistock Road.
Businesses will remain open during these works.
Other site preparation works will include the demolition of three Council-owned properties on Tavistock Road. These properties were purchased to support the planned widening of Tavistock Road, which will be delivered in a later phase of the scheme but are being demolished earlier to provide the contractor site compound for Phase 1.
Further details will be provided when the date for demolition is confirmed, along with more information about the start of the main Phase 1 construction works.
Detailed design work on the second phase of the scheme, which will include the replacement of Woolwell Roundabout with a new signalised junction, as well as the widening of Tavistock Road, is continuing and further details will be made available at a later stage.
The Woolwell to The George scheme is a vital part of the Council’s programme to provide better links to and from the north of Plymouth as it grows and will complement others in the area, such as the completed Derriford Hospital Interchange and Derriford Transport Scheme, as well as the Forder Valley Link Road, due to open shortly.