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A5 Nesscliffe Bypass
3. Summary of Results
AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC COUNTS (ATC)
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
- 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.
- 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.
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
- 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
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 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
- 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.
