People travelling through the borough are being warned to expect delays for the next month as essential road works are carried out in Hammersmith Broadway.

From Monday March 25 until April 29, two lanes on Hammersmith Broadway on the Hammersmith Gyratory, from the top of Queen Caroline Street to Shepherd's Bush Road, will be closed for six weeks for BT to rebuild its underground concrete chamber.

However, an extra lane has already been created, so two lanes of traffic will still be able to flow around the gyratory.

It is likely that the work to replace the chamber, which lies in between the taxi rank outside the Broadway Shopping Centre and Shepherd's Bush Road, will cause some delays, so road users and residents are advised to leave extra time for their journeys.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council says these essential works have been postponed because of the Olympics and Christmas roadwork embargos. The embargos mean that all councils in London were forced to suspend all major works between July and October last year, and then again over the Christmas holiday period, leaving a backlog of works.

The work has now become increasingly urgent as the BT chamber is in threat of collapse – something that, were it to happen, would mean the entire gyratory would have to be closed immediately for emergency works, causing traffic chaos.

Cllr Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler, cabinet member for transport and technical services, says: " We will do everything in our power to press BT to make sure they finish as quickly as possible. Our CCTV cameras will continuously monitor these works and our highways inspectors will be on site every day to check that the companies keep to their programmes of works."

To make sure that these works are completed as quickly as
possible, BT will be able to work on the site 24/7 though no noisy works will be allowed between 10pm and 8am, Monday to Saturday, and between 10pm and 10am on Sunday.

Local amenity groups and emergency services have been consulted and local residents, businesses and community groups in the area should have received letters from BT with information about the works. Electronic variable message signs (VMS) and advance warning signs have been in place for the past few weeks.

The project falls under the London Permit Scheme, where the utility company must buy a permit for the length of time of the work from the council and if they go over their allocated time, would incur a fine.

BT has been working with the council, Transport for London, London Buses and London Underground to try and find the best possible solution to get these works done as quickly as they can, while causing as little disruption as possible.

 

March 24, 2013