Highways Agency

• February 2002
• Executive summary
• 1. introduction
• 2. data collected
• 3. summary of results
• 4. conclusion

A5 Nesscliffe Bypass

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.