Motorists are being warned to expect delays in the Hammersmith area this week due to a series of essential works.

The longest running works are the slip road improvement programme at the junction of Fulham Palace Road and Talgarth Road, which will not be completed until February 2012.

Work will be carried out Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm and at weekends from 8am to 4pm.

On Monday, August 22, these works are causing delays on Hammersmith Broadway and down Fulham Palace Road.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council says the £2.4 million scheme will free up traffic at one of the borough’s most notorious transport bottlenecks and has been prioritised as part of its Get H&F Moving campaign.

The two pedestrian subway entrances on the western side of Fulham Palace Road are being excavated and in-filled to allow the new slip road to be constructed.

This means in future northbound traffic will be separated from buses accessing Hammersmith Bus Station and enter the gyratory further west.

The council says this will allow the introduction of a series of signal controlled pedestrian crossing points across all arms of the new junction, allowing the junction to operate more efficiently through the timing of the traffic lights.

Across the road, Transport for London is carrying out improvement works to the Fulham Palace Road side of Hammersmith Bus Station. This work is expected to be completed by Tuesday August 30 and a number of bus diversions are in place - see the bottom of this page for details.

Work has alse begun replacing the carriageway on Hammersmith Bridge and will take three weeks to complete.

Temporary traffic lights are being used to manage two-way traffic flow over Hammersmith Bridge between 10am and 4pm during week days only. During weekends, all southbound traffic is being diverted over Chiswick Bridge via the A4 (Great West Rd) and A316 (Great Chertsey Road).

Access to the footpaths on Hammersmith Bridge will remain available at all times. Cyclists travelling southbound during the weekend diversions will be expected to dismount and use the footpaths. Emergency access will also be maintained all times.

In addition, National Grid Gas (NGG) is replacing gas mains in Uxbridge Road, between St Elmo Road and Askew Crescent - works which will last until October 10.  Excavations run along Uxbridge Road’s south-side footway and westbound cycle lane, starting at St Elmo Road working eastwards, with temporary lights set up to facilitate these works.

National Grid Gas is also working on Lillie Road in Fulham, with two way temporary lights in action from 9am till 5pm until August 31.

BT is also working at the junction of North End Road and Edith Road until August 25, though this work will be carried out at night, between 9pm and 6am. Temporary traffic lights will operate in both directions. And in nearby Dawes Road, resurfacing work between Rylston Road and Varna Road is causing traffic diversions between 8pm and 5am.

There is one piece of good news for motorists however, as BT and Thames Water have cancelled works which were to have closed Hammersmith's King Street.

Cllr Nick Botterill, H&F Council Deputy Leader, says: “I would like to thank motorists in advance for their patience and understanding during what is likely to be a disruptive period on our roads.

"Faced with a choice of either coordinating all these roadworks together or spreading them out throughout the rest of the year, we have decided to complete all this essential work in one short, sharp burst during what is traditionally the quietest period of the year on the borough’s roads. We have also ordered all the utility companies to complete their works on time and at the minimum of fuss."

Bus diversions:

Routes 9, 10, 27, N9, towards Aldwych/Turnham Green 
From Talgarth Road and Hammersmith Bus Station, diverted via ahead Talgarth Road, right Queen Caroline Street, right Hammersmith Broadway, right Hammersmith Bus Station via the north ramp to normal line of route.

Routes 72, 283 towards Shepherds Bush Road 
From Hammersmith Bus Station North Ramp, diverted via right Butterwick, right Talgarth Road, right Queen Caroline Street, right Hammersmith Broadway, left Shepherds Bush Road to line of route

Routes 267, H91 towards Hounslow/Hampton court 
From Hammersmith Bus Station North Ramp, diverted via right Hammersmith Broadway, right Butterwick, right Talgarth Road, right Queen Caroline Street, left King Street to line of route.

Routes 190, 211, 220, 295, N11 toward Hammersmith Bus Station 
From Fulham Palace Road and Talgarth Road, diverted via left Talgarth Road, right Queen Caroline Street, right Hammersmith Broadway, right Hammersmith bus Station, North ramp entrance to line of route.

Routes 190, 211, 220, 295, N97 toward Fulham Palace Road 
From Hammersmith Bus Station North Ramp, diverted via right Hammersmith Broadway, right Butterwick, right Talgarth Road, left Fulham Palace Road to line of route.

August 22, 2011