Welcome to Warwickshire County Council

Frequently asked questions

Q. Why has the proposed completion date of the scheme been put back to 2010? A. It is currently anticipated that the northern section of the Western Relief Road which is between Lawford Road and Newbold Road will be completed near the end of 2010. This will be about 12 months later than originally predicted. The main reason for the delay is that Network Rail encountered problems with the upgrading of the West Coast Mainline in 2007 and 2008 which impacted on the Relief Road construction. This resulted in the construction of Parkfield Road Railway Bridge being delayed by approximately 11 months. This operation was, and still is on the critical path, so any such a delays bear directly on the final completion date. Also further delays have been incurred due to the much shorter track possessions being made available by Network rail. In particular a single closure of 50 hours to allow the bridge beams to be placed now requires 6 consecutive Saturday-Sunday overnight closures to complete the works. As a major part of the scheme the original Parkfield Road is being re-aligned, lowered and strengthened. Within its carriageway there are a significant number of services such as gas, electricity, water, sewers, etc and these are having to be diverted. Owing to the limited space available, and the nature of the services, the diversion work has to be done in a sequential manner i.e. one after another. Several unidentified services have been discovered and in several cases these have had to be diverted resulting in further unexpected delays. The problems described above only relate to the 2km section north of Lawford Road. The 4km section of new road which is to the south of Lawford Road and stretches as far as the A4071 near Potfords Dam Farm has not experienced similar problems. It is therefore expected to open this length to traffic towards the end of this year which will be within the originally predicted timescale. Although it is regretted that the delays to the progress of the North Section will cause inconvenience, it is expected that the opening of the South Section will bring much needed traffic relief in the Cawston and Bilton areas. Q. What is the cost of the relief road? A. The construction cost of the relief road is £24.2M. However, the total cost including design and supervision, land and compensation, and other miscellaneous costs is £36.6M. Q. When will the relief road open? A. The relief road is scheduled to open at the end of 2010. However, large construction projects are often delayed for reasons beyond the control of the County Council or the contractor. Any predicted delays will be posted on the relief road website. Q. Why can’t the contractor work 24 hours to complete the relief road early? A. The contractor cannot work 24 hours for environmental reasons. In most locations the relief road is close to residential areas where 24 hour working would cause unacceptable disturbance to residents. Q. Why have public footpaths been closed? A. Footpaths have been closed where they cross the construction site for reason of safety. Alternative routes are sign posted at suitable locations. Q. Why is Parkfield Road closed for 2 years? A. Parkfield Road is closed for through traffic at the existing bridge over the West Coast Mainline Railway for 18 months. Closure is required to enable construction of a new bridge over the railway and two new roundabouts on each side of the new bridge. Construction of a new tunnel and retaining walls along Parkfield Road within the Cemex works also require closure of Parkfield Road. Access to frontages will be maintained at all times. Q. Why do the relief road works coincide with other works in Rugby such as the new Asda? A. The relief road is funded through developer contributions and Government grants. The developer funding was negotiated many years ago and they have a life of 10 years; they are lost if not used within their term. Some of these contributions are coming to the end of their life and therefore the County Council considered it prudent to commence construction as early as possible following approvals from the Secretary of State for Transport. Q. The Rugby town centre is gridlocked – can’t you do something? A. The Council apologises for any delays to members of the public caused by construction of the relief road and other ongoing works. We are continually monitoring the flow of traffic and shall make every effort to make improvements wherever we can. Q. Who do I contact if I am interested in visiting the site? A. Schools wishing to carry out projects on the relief road should write to the Council’s Relief Road PR officer, Mr Peter Bones, PO Box 43, Environment and Economy, Design Services, Shire Hall, Warwick, CV34 4SX. Pete is also taking organised tours of the site for interested members of the public. You can contact him on 01788 513125. Q. I am a sub-contractor/supplier, how can I win a contract to supply the main contractor? A. The main contractor is Carillion JM plc. Any sub-contractors/suppliers wishing to supply the main contractor should contact the Carillion site office on Paynes Lane, Rugby (Tel 01788 513100).