A358 Taunton to Southfields
Road Investment Strategy Scheme Specific “Create a dual carriageway link from the M5 at Taunton to the A303 incorporating upgraded stretches of the existing road into the strategic road network where appropriate.” “The A303/A358 will provide an Expressway corridor from London to Exeter via the M5 at Taunton, creating a second strategic corridor to the region.” Expressways “At a minimum, this means: Largely or entirely dual carriageway roads that are safe, well-built and resilient to delay Junctions which are grade separated, so traffic on the main road can pass over or under roundabouts without stopping Modern safety measures and construction standards Technology to manage traffic and provide better information to drivers.” Provided in 14 years
All Options Fully online option (option 3) ranked 22 in the first EAST sifting process and dropped due to poor performance.
Top 4 Options following sifting £462m £526m Option 2/2D Option 1 £505m £512m Option 8A/8B + J25 Option 13
Reduced Cost Options All four options underwent a value engineering exercise that considered the following cost reduction measures: Development of vertical alignment to optimise earthworks; Rationalisation of side road strategy Discard some Expressway core requirements Focus on online widening Following this the options were still coming through as unaffordable ranging £455m-526m. A further Value Engineering exercise was undertaken in an attempt to drive down costs to within budget. Out of this additional options were developed. Core Option 1/1B - At grade connection with the existing Southfields Roundabout - Online widening along the existing A358 between Southfields and Hatch Beauchamp - Limited movements junction at the M5 comprising only south facing slip roads Core Option 8/8B - At grade connection with the existing Southfields Roundabout - Online widening along the existing A358 between Southfields and Hatch Beauchamp - No new connection to M5 Junction 25 NFS (North Facing Slips) = provision of north facing slip roads at the M5 enabling all movements interchange between the M5 and the new road J25 (Junction 25 Connection) = Connection into the existing Junction 25 roundabout. Option Central/most likely Commentary estimate pre and post VE work 13 £512m Option dismissed on affordability grounds 2 £415m Development / rationalisation of option 2/2D (Awaiting commercial estimate) 1/1B +NFS £462m £386m Option 1 with an all movements junction on M5 motorway 8/8B + J25 £505m £401m Option 8/8B (with a connection in to junction 25) cost reduced through VE exercise. 8/8B+NFS £366m Option 8/8B (with an all movements junction on the M5 but no connection to J25). 8/8B £358m Option 8/8B (South facing slips on M5 only)
Is there a £251m option? An exercise was undertaken to explore how much work can be undertaken for the budget of £251m. There is not a deliverable RIS compliant option available because: There is not a DMRB compliant option. There is not an expressway compliant option. Possibly some phased large scale local upgrades would be possible for example: – Henlade Bypass; – A378 Junction upgrade; – Southfields grade separation; – Online dualling of some of the existing A358; – Offline dual carriageway Capland to M5
Online Option Revisited • Jct25 is at capacity • Negative environmental impact on AQMA • Severance at Henlade • Sustainable transport options are weakened • Low score at sifting
Online Considerations Existing Air Quality Management Area. Additional Traffic Flows will increase pollution to unacceptable levels. Existing Junction 25 is Not RIS Compliant at capacity. Substantial Vertical alignment very work may be required to poor. There is a upgrade the junction and pronounced hump in the this is not in accordance road that is equivalent to with the RIS the alignment for a design speed of 20 – 30mph. Cost and practicality dictates offline section Significant impact on here. Not RIS Compliant existing residential SCC Plans for routing A358 areas , including traffic through park and ride substantial side road site is likely to cause work. The cost of this unacceptable congestion and section will be suppress benefits. disproportionally high due Offline solution in this area to residential land costs would be require to prevent and impact on Henlade. New Junction Required to conflict with SCC plans, Pick up A378 meaning a connection into the new development roundabout is the only option. This would not be RIS compliant.
Online Considerations Existing Junction 25 is Not RIS Compliant at capacity. Substantial Vertical alignment very work may be required to poor. There is a upgrade the junction and pronounced hump in the this is not in accordance road that is equivalent to with the RIS the alignment for a design speed of 20 – 30mph. Cost and practicality dictates offline section here. Not RIS Compliant SCC Plans for routing A358 traffic through park and ride site is likely to cause unacceptable congestion and suppress benefits. Offline solution in this area would be require to prevent New Junction Required to conflict with SCC plans, Pick up A378 meaning a connection into the new development roundabout is the only option. This would not be RIS compliant.
RIS Compliant and incorporates the following assumptions: Option 2 (Mainly Online) • Connectivity to M5 Jct25 • Henlade by-pass • South facing slips • Dual 2 lane trunk road • Expressway ready
John Hayes letter tpo Marcus Fysch MP - states – When we met we discussed your concerns that Highways England has, at this early stage, included options that do not include a link between the proposed new dual carriageway A358 and the existing M5 junction 25 and its connections into Taunton. I can assure you that I fully understand your concerns and the need for this scheme to support the local economy as well as regional and national needs. I will ensure that Highways England takes this priority into account as the scheme develops.
E-mail from DfT to Highways England States: – The Minister was sympathetic to Mr Fysh and agreed to get HE to stop considering options which did not have local support from MPs and LAs. When I pointed out the HE has to consider a wide range of options at this stage, even if not all of them were taken into the public consultation stage, both Mr Fysh and the Minister said that the early options stage should only include a range of options that include a connection at J25, as there was no point considering options that were going to be dropped later and had no local support. The Minister was keen to convey this message to HE more generally, for all schemes, not just this one.
Proposed Options for Consultation
Proposed Options for Consultation
Proposed Options for Consultation
Recommendations 1) Take the following through to Public Consultation: Potential future link to M5 Junction 25
Key Milestone Dates Milestone / Event Start Stage 0 01-Jun-15 Stage 1 18-Dec-15 Stage 2 02-Dec-16 Stage 3 19-Jul-17 Stage 4 02-May-18 Stage 5 25-Jun-19 Stage 6 19-Mar-20 Stage 7 21-Mar-23 Project Start 01-Dec-15 Commence Public Consultation March 2017 SGAR 1 Option Identification 08-Feb-17 Preferred Route Announcement 08-Aug-17 SGAR 3 Preliminary Design 01-May-18 DCO Application 31-May-18 SGAR 5 (Construction Preparation) 25-Jun-19 DCO Decision 12-Dec-19
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