Cressex Link improvement work scheduled
Work is due to start by Buckinghamshire County Council in late January on improvements to the busy Cressex Link crossroads, High Wycombe.
The £750,000 scheme includes:
- Four Puffin pedestrian crossings
- New traffic light configuration
- Realigned kerbs to introduce two left-hand turns
- A heavy lorry ban along Cressex Road
The left-hand turns from Cressex Road will make it easier for drivers to get to Cressex business park and the link road towards John Hall Way.
Improvements to traffic lights will give north-south priority to business park traffic to reduce queues at evening peak times.
A new Traffic Regulation Order will introduce a 7.5 tonne weight limit along Cressex Road, and traffic islands will be removed to improve the look of the junction.
The County Council is working with nearby Chepping View Academy on travel planning initiatives to reduce congestion at the school entrance while junction work progresses. This will include encouraging parents to drop their children off further away from the school.
Mark Shaw, Deputy Leader and Transport Cabinet Member, said the improvements would benefit journey times for business park workers, making it easier to leave in the evening.
“I know how difficult it is for drivers queueing to leave the business park in the evening, and while this scheme will be a great improvement for them, I’m afraid it’s not a panacea. We won’t be able to create the traffic flows that staggered finishing times would bring,” said Mark.
“I’m delighted for residents in Cressex Road, whose lives will be improved when we eliminate heavy lorries from their road.”
Work starts on Monday 21 January and finishes in early May. Regular updates are available by signing up to www.buckscc.gov.uk/cressex
The improvement scheme is being paid for jointlyby Buckinghamshire County and Wycombe District Councils, along with Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (BTVLEP).
Work schedule details
A short section of Cressex Road either side of the junction will be closed all day, from 21 January, for contractors to work safely.
Between 9.30am and 3.30pm temporary traffic lights will control a north-south lane closure, and if this needs to continue into peak hours, lights will be controlled manually to maintain traffic flows.
The junction will close completely from 7pm to 6am between Monday 21 January and Friday 1 February, to allow traffic islands to be removed, and between Tuesday 23 April and Friday 3 May, for resurfacing.
“I appreciate these measures will affect the lives of residents and business park workers, and I apologise in advance,” said Mark. “We looked at other ways of working, and they either cost much more or risked a poorer quality job.”
