Highways Agency

Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Executive summary

Executive Summary

The A5 Nesscliffe scheme comprises of a 2.8 mile section of new dual carriageway, bypassing the village of Nesscliffe. The existing A5 is a narrow and winding single carriageway through the village with many low standard junctions causing safety, environmental and severance problems. The bypass was designed to alleviate these problems.

The bypass was officially opened on the 27th March 2003 but one lane in each direction was opened on the 10th March, providing an improved route for through traffic using the A5 through Nesscliffe. 'Before' and 'After' traffic data for the bypass was collected immediately prior to and after scheme opening in March to monitor the initial effects of the new scheme. In addition, traffic data from surveys on County roads from Shropshire County Council and existing Highways Agency permanent count sites was obtained to evaluate the effects of the opening of the A5 Nesscliffe Bypass on strategic and local traffic routeing patterns in the area.

Figure 0.1 - Daily Traffic Flows 'Before' & 'After' scheme opening

The three main effects of scheme opening are as follows:

• The new bypass was used by about 17,300 vehicles a day, in the month following opening, and daily traffic flows through the village have reduced from 17,200 vpd to 1,300 vpd, an approximate reduction of 92%. Therefore, the bypass has been successful in removing traffic out of Nesscliffe.
• There is no redistribution of traffic from other routes, suggesting that the scheme has not attracted any additional traffic from other roads in the area; and
• There are Journey time savings of up to 3 minutes for movements along the A5 following the opening of the bypass.

1. introduction

1. Introduction

1. This report outlines the results of traffic surveys carried out to monitor the effects of the recently opened A5 Nesscliffe Bypass. The 2.8 mile (4.5km) dual two lane bypass will pass to the west of the village of Nesscliffe, Shropshire, and connect to the existing A5, using roundabouts at Felton Butler Lane and Wolfshead, as illustrated in Figure 1.1 below. The objectives of the scheme were to improve the environment, severance and accident record in Nesscliffe by removing through traffic from the village.
2. The A5 Nesscliffe Bypass was to be officially open on the 27th March 2003, but one lane in each direction was opened early on 10th March 2003. 'Before' and 'After' traffic data for the bypass was collected immediately prior to and after the opening date, in order to prepare a Traffic Impact Study (TIS) on the effects of the scheme opening. In addition, traffic data from Shropshire County and Highways Agency count sites has been used to evaluate the effects of the opening of the scheme on local traffic routeing patterns in the area.
3. Chapter 2 of this report discusses the data collected as part of the TIS study. Chapters 3 and 4 summarise the main results and conclusions.

Figure 1.1 - Location of A5 Nesscliffe Bypass

2. data collected

2. Data Collected

1. The Traffic Impact Study (TIS) for the A5 Nesscliffe bypass included the following surveys:

   'Before' Surveys

   • 8 Shropshire County council site locations;
   • Automatic Traffic Count data (ATC) from 2 Highways Agency permanent count site locations; and
   • Journey time surveys (JTS) on the A5 from A5/B4397 junction to the A5 / road to Ensdon House junction.

   'After' Surveys

   • The 'After' surveys mirror the 'Before' surveys with the addition of an extra ATC site on the new bypass and an additional journey time route along the new road, which was undertaken on 14th May 2003.

2. The details of the 'Before' and 'After' surveys are described below.

AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC COUNTS (ATC)

3. The scheme itself was due to open on 27th March 2003, and thus, the count equipment was connected on 1st March and scheduled to continue for eight weeks to incorporate the scheme opening day and the weeks after opening. One lane in each direction was opened early on the 10th March and therefore only one full week of data was available pre-opening.
4. Due to Shropshire County Council's part in managing and funding the collection of the 'Before' and 'After' traffic data on county roads, and data from permanent Highways Agency count sites, we have been able to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of any local traffic routeing changes in the area.
5. The eight County sites used were as follows:
   • B4396 at Knockin Heath;
   • B4397 at Baschurch;
   • A528 at Cockshutt;
   • A528 Broadoak;
   • Unclassified road at Huffley;
   • B5067 Gravelhill;
   • B4380 at Montford Bridge (south of river);
   • Unclassified road at Forton;
6. Traffic data has been obtained from three Highways Agency permanent count sites on trunk roads, namely;
   • Old A5 at Wolfshead (north of Nesscliffe);
   • New A5 bypass, north of Nesscliffe; and
   • A5 at Montford Bridge (south of scheme).

7. All count sites used are illustrated in Figure 2.1 below:

   

   Figure 2.1 - Location of Traffic Count Sites

JOURNEY TIME SURVEYS

8. Journey Time (JT) Surveys were also undertaken on the A5. The 'Before' JT route covered the section of A5, from Ensdon in the south to a point north of the bypass. The survey route, comprising five timing points, is depicted in Figure 2.2 below. A further JT survey was undertaken after scheme opening, with the same start and finish point, but using the new bypass.

   

   Figure 2.2 - Journey Time Survey Route along the old A5

9. 'Before' journey time surveys previously undertaken on Tuesday 14th May 2002 (well before any delays during construction were observed) were used for comparison with surveys carried out post scheme opening. Survey periods used were the morning (08:00-09:00) and evening (17:00-18:00) peaks as well as an inter-peak period (10:00-15:00).

3. summary of results

3. Summary of Results

AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC COUNTS (ATC)

1. Figure 3.1 below summarises the 'Before' and 'After' ATC information using 5-Day Average two-way traffic flows. A summary results table is included in Annex A of this report.

   

   Figure 3.1 - 'Before' & 'After' ATC Results: 5 Day Average

2. Following scheme opening on 10th March 2003, around 17,300 vehicles per day (vpd) were recorded using the new bypass. Traffic volumes on the old road fell from 17,170 vpd before opening, to just over 1,300 post opening, showing a 92% decrease of around 15,900 vpd. The scheme has therefore been successful in routeing traffic away from the village.
3. From examination of County data, it is evident that traffic volume levels in the area have not changed since the introduction of the new bypass. There have been small insignificant increases but nothing that suggests traffic has re-distributed since scheme opening. Many of the parallel routes such as the A528 and B4397 remain largely unchanged after the scheme opened.

4. The A5 in this area is a recognised tourist route from the Midlands to North Wales and the Holyhead Irish Ferries. As such we have undertaken an assessment of traffic volume monthly variation.

   Figure 3.2 below shows the typical trend in traffic on the old A5 north of Nesscliffe for the year 2001.

   

   Figure 3.2 - AWT for each month in 2001

5. The 'After' surveys were undertaken in April, which corresponds to around 17,000 vpd. The monthly variation shows that there is a peak in August, corresponding to bank holidays and school holidays. The peak month of August shows nearly 20,000 vehicles per day could be expected, which represents a 16% increase over the traffic volumes shown in this report. On certain days such as Fridays before bank holidays, traffic volumes for this location peaked at 23,500 vpd, an increase of 33% over typical April traffic volumes.

JOURNEY TIMES

6. A summary of the Journey Times from the 'Before' and 'After' scheme opening surveys is shown in Table 3.1. The final 'Saving' column shows the time savings between the old road in the 'Before' and the bypass in the 'After' scenario, and therefore represents the expected time saving for through traffic.

   Table 3.1 - Comparative 'Before' & 'After' Journey Times

   Direction	Period	Journey Time
   		Old Road		New Road
   		Before	After		Saving
   N/B	AM	07:28	06:14	04:59	02:29
   	Inter	07:22	06:25	04:56	02:26
   	PM	07:09	06:08	04:58	02:11
   S/B	AM	07:58	06:06	04:49	03:09
   	Inter	07:46	06:20	04:48	02:59
   	PM	07:19	06:23	04:56	02:23

7. This table indicates that time savings of up to three minutes are being observed by using the new bypass when travelling between, the road to Ensdon House, and, the road to Lower Hopton, just after the B4396. Figure 3.3 below shows the breakdown of the average speeds across different sections of road.

   

   Figure 3.3 - Average speeds at different sections of the A5

8. Note that some journey speeds are slightly slower on the old A6 through Nesscliffe, in the 'After' scenario, mainly because of the new scheme roundabouts at either end, particularly northbound, where traffic has to give way to southbound traffic accessing the new bypass.

4. conclusion

4. Conclusion

1. The traffic data collected as part of this Traffic Impact Study demonstrates that the new A5 Nesscliffe Bypass, which opened on 10th March 2003, carries around 17,100 vehicles per day (on an average weekday). Traffic count data, post scheme opening in March, shows very low traffic volumes on the old A5 through the village, clearly indicating that the scheme has been successful in routeing practically all the vehicles (92%) away from the village.
2. The results from the traffic count data collected for this TIS Report suggest that there has been a straightforward re-routing from the old road to the new bypass. Very little re-distribution from other roads in the area has been observed.
3. The Journey Time Surveys suggest that there are time savings of up to 3 minutes for journeys along the four mile route that was monitored.
4. The One Year 'After' Count for this scheme's Post Opening Project Evaluation will be undertaken in March / April 2004.

• Annex A (15KB PDF)