Work underway on Wycombe’s alternative route

Work is underway on phase two of High Wycombe’s Alternative Route, and County Councilcontractors are now on site daily, creating new parking bays and widened pavements along Desborough Road.

The works are part of the project to create a new route through High Wycombe, linking the A40 Oxford Road with Marlow Hill roundabout, and include a new road through the town’s old gasworks site.

Bus stops by St John’s Church will be out of service during the works and buses are being diverted along West Wycombe Road and Desborough Avenue.

For four days during half-term holiday – continuously from 7pm on Monday October 24 to 6am on Friday October 28 – the section of Desborough Road between Westbourne Street and Bridge Street will be closed to all vehicles so that contractors can construct the section’s two main pedestrian crossings. Pedestrian access to businesses will be kept open and noise levels will be kept to a minimum in the evenings as work will go on until 1am each day.

A sign-posted diversion route will be in place during this period.

Mark Shaw, Buckinghamshire County Council’s Transport Cabinet Member, said: ‘I understand road closures, however short and planned, create inconvenience, and I hope residents and traders will accept our apologies. We chose a school holiday week when disruption to road users would be at a minimum.’

Mark said the closure was necessary for the safety not only of the public, but also of road workers.

Future work in DesboroughRoad involves the replacement of traffic lights at Bridge Street with a mini roundabout junction, as well as further resurfacing work and new streetlights. Workfrom Westbourne Street to Lily’s Walk will continue until August 2017.

The Alternative Route scheme – part of High Wycombe Masterplan – is a joint project between Buckinghamshire County Council, Wycombe District Council and Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership.