The main road across the Cumberland Basin into South Bristol will be completely closed tonight (Fri, OCt 21) and for the whole weekend until early on Monday morning as the third phase of the roadworks project which has brought serious traffic congestion to the area for weeks begins.
Workers repairing the Avon Bridge, which takes Brunel Way over the western end of the New Cut River Avon between the Cumberland Basin and Ashton Gate, have completed the first two phases of their work. Those have seen one lane closed in each direction of the Brunel Way dual carriageway since Tuesday, September 20.
Now the third phase is about to begin, and that involves the total closure of one side of the road for a weekend. Despite Bristol City Council’s website page on the Avon Bridge work saying this afteroon that the dates for these are yet to be confirmed, Bristol Live has been told it will start this weekend, and begin tonight - Friday, October 21.
Read more: Council slammed for 'appalling timing' of third bridge repairs
The southbound side of the A3029 Brunel Way will be closed entirely from the Hotwells junction with the A4, to the Jessop Way underpass at Ashton Gate from 8pm on Friday right through to 6am on Monday morning, October 24.
The council told Bristol Live that drivers wanting to cross the bridge from Hotwells or Cumberland Basin will be diverted to east along Cumberland Road, around the Bedminster Bridge roundabout and back west along Coronation Road on the south side of the river.
Cumberland Road at that end of Spike Island has been closed eastbound for more than a year with the ongoing work to repair the river bank there, but from 8pm on Friday it will switch back to become two way again to allow drivers to travel east along the river to the Bedminster Bridge roundabout, but they will still have to negotiate the traffic lights at the riverbank repair site, close to the caravan park. The council has warned that delays will be likely with all this, so people travelling south from Hotwells to Ashton Gate should seek an alternative route, and there are also expected to be long delays and congestion in Bedminster, Southville, Redcliffe, Temple Meads, Hotwells, the Harbourside, city centre and on the Portway.
Once the weekend closure is over there will be another weekend closure for the northbound side - from 8pm on Friday 4 November until 6am Monday 7 November.. The good news for commuters is that the roadworks that have constricted the A3029 Brunel Way down to one lane for the past month will be over from 6am on Monday morning, and during the week the road will be fully open.
The roadworks have, for the past month, brought gridlock and long queues on both sides of the bridge, particularly on the A4 Portway heading into Bristol and around the Winterstoke Road interchange at Ashton Gate. While the work has been ongoing, bosses at Ashton Gate have warned fans attending Bristol City and Bristol Bears games at the stadium that they can't guarantee the park and ride matchday buses will reach the ground in time for kickoff.
This has not been helped by the repeated failure of the traffic lights on the Plimsoll Bridge that takes Brunel Way over the Cumberland Basin lock system. Several times during the roadwork period the lights which stop drivers when the swing bridge is opening have been stuck on red.
The work is being undertaken to replace four expansion joints on the Avon Bridge as the dual carriageway crosses the river - work that was deemed essential after it was spotted in an inspection last year. When the work began back in September, Cllr Don Alexander, the council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “Refurbishing Avon Bridge is essential to protect the structure from further water damage and keep the structure operational as it reaches the end of its lifecycle.
“Brunel Way is a major route, so we’ve worked hard on a plan to keep the bridge open as much as possible throughout the works. However, they are likely to delay people as they travel through the area, so we are suggesting finding alternative routes and hope that everyone bears with us while we repair this important bridge,” he added.
Other key routes that connect South Bristol with the rest of the city are also the subject of repair work at the moment. The A38 Malago Road is still closed northbound in Bedminster and will remain so until the middle of 2024, the Gaol Ferry Bridge, which provides a pedestrian and cycle alternative from Southville to the city centre, is closed for at least the rest of the year, and the work to repair the Redcliffe bascule bridge across the Floating Harbour has been delayed and the road won’t now be reopened until November.
Read more - all the South Bristol bridge and road issues
- September 2022 - Brunel Way roadworks to 'cause disruption'
- September 2022 - Delays hamper Redcliffe Bascule Bridge repair work
- August 2022 - Gaol Ferry Bridge finally shuts after months of delays
- January 2022 - Two and a half years of road disruption begins in Bedminster
- January 2022 - Heat Network roadworks in Bedminster will 'kill us off' say East Street traders
- September 2021 - Cumberland Road to remain closed eastbound
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