Halfway point reached on A4 shared footway and cycleway

Work on a shared cycleway and footway along Bath Road, between Burnham and Taplow, reaches its halfway point next week (w/b Monday 19 August).

The £2.2 million scheme includes a 1.8 mile footway/cycleway, with electronic real-time passenger information installed at seven bus stops along the route.

Construction starts on Monday (19 August) on remaining sections between Ellington Road and Station Road, Taplow, and is expected to take around three months.

For the first week, from 19-23 August, 24-hour temporary traffic lights will be needed on the section outside the Miller and Carter restaurant to enable contractors to safely complete works to the layby area and to remove a traffic island.

Mark Shaw, Buckinghamshire County Council Deputy Leader and Transport Cabinet Member, said: “I appreciate the work may cause some inconvenience, and I apologise in advance, however, I’m confident the scheme will be a strong support to our sustainable travel aspirations.”

Mark said the construction team had tried to keep the use of 24-hour temporary lights to the school holidays when traffic flow was lighter, and had kept the use of temporary lights to a minimum, using narrow lanes where possible to keep traffic flowing.

Since April construction has concentrated on the junction at Berry Hill, and sections between Hitcham Road and Huntercombe Lane to link with the recently built shared use cycleway and footway along Bath Road from Slough.

When finished, the scheme will connect with national and local cycle networks. It will also give bus passengers up-to-the-minute information about their connections, and encourage more people to walk or cycle to and from rail stations served by new Crossrail services when they start.

The scheme is being funded largely by ring-fenced Government local growth funding through Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (BLEP), with support from developer contributions and the County Council’s capital maintenance programme.

Progress reports will be posted on the project website https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/transport-and-roads/road-projects-and-improvement-schemes/a4-sustainable-travel-scheme/