A30 weekend road closure gets underway tonight
A new bridge is being installed as part of National Highway's Chiverton to Carland Cross upgrade
Last updated 17th Feb 2023
Rescheduled bridge installation works get underway on the A30 tonight (Friday 17 February).
It's part of National Highway's Chiverton to Carland Cross upgrade.
The works this weekend will see a new 137-foot accommodation bridge lifted into place at Tolgroggan, near Zelah.
It was originally planned to take place from 3-6 February but has been postponed twice, to allow for suitable ground conditions to enable a 600-tonne crawler crane to lift the 275-tonne bridge deck into place.
The company say there's no delay to the long-term programme of the project.
Neil Winter, National Highways’ Senior Project Manager for the A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross scheme, said: "We allowed for contingencies in the programme, and felt it was only right to reschedule to allow site preparations to be exactly how we want them and to be sure we can complete the lift under one weekend closure.
"Adverse weather over the past two months, a mixture of heavy rainfall and low temperatures, has thrown up circumstances out of our control, but a little extra time will ensure the ground has firm footings required for what is a large-scale and off-road crane lift.
"It won’t impact on our programme or future road opening date, and, based on traffic modelling from last year’s half-term, the weekend of 17-20 will cause lesser disruption to local communities and people making holiday journeys in Cornwall.
"And should strong winds and adverse weather interfere with that weekend, we also have a contingency in place for 24-27 February."
The A30 will be fully closed between the Boxheater junction and Chiverton Cross roundabout to enable the installation of the new bridge.
It will be shut from 8.00pm tonight (Friday, 17 February), and reopened to traffic by 6.00am on Monday (20 February).
Clearly signed diversions will be in place via the Boxheater Junction and Chiverton Cross roundabout, with eastbound traffic diverted via the A3075 to Goonhavern and the B3285 to rejoin the A30.
The westbound diversion will operate in reverse, with the B3284 remaining open under temporary traffic signals north and south across the Chybucca roundabout.
The installation operation will see the new 137ft (42-metre) structure being lifted into place before the dismantling of the old accommodation bridge later in the year.
A 600-tonne crawler crane, constructed on site, will be employed to lift the newly constructed steel twin-beam overbridge onto recently constructed foundations east of the old structure.
The new bridge weighs 275 tonnes, the equivalent weight of 23 double decker buses or 887,097 standard Cornish pasties, and once completed it will span both the new dual carriageway and the old A30, which will be detrunked for improved local connectivity and traffic.