A flyover at the new Chiverton interchange will be partially opened to traffic next month as part of National Highways’ A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross dualling scheme.
Following the early summer removal of the old Chiverton roundabout – Cornwall’s worst accident hot-spot – traffic has since been navigating a temporary interchange.
But following a weekend closure, from Friday, December 8 to Monday, December 11, A30 traffic flows will improve further as drivers will be able to travel directly east and west across the interchange, using the westbound lanes of the new dual carriageway.
Access will be maintained to the A390, A3075, B3277 and other local routes, while traffic from those roads will be able to join the A30 eastbound and westbound, as detailed in the graphic below:
Neil Winter, National Highways’ Senior Project Manager for the A30 scheme, said: “The opening of the Chiverton flyover to traffic will represent a real step forward at this end of the scheme, and the project as a whole.
“It means drivers wishing to continue their journeys along the A30 will no longer have to negotiate the temporary interchange and this should ease congestion as we progress the scheme at this location.
“Following the opening of the temporary interchange we did see additional congestion in comparison to the old roundabout but this has eased as drivers got used to the arrangement and after additional measures were introduced to ease traffic flows.
“Work during the weekend closure will enable us to open the new westbound section of the dual carriageway to traffic, albeit in single file, and if not by the Monday then certainly in the coming days.
“This partial opening will help traffic flows further, and we’ll continue to do what we can to minimise congestion as we continue work to complete and fully open the split-level junction next year and move forward towards delivering this major highway upgrade for Cornwall.”
The B3284 northbound was reopened to access the A30 at Chybucca at the end of September, and during the weekend closure, the new junction will be further opened for traffic.
The B3284 north and south links will be closed over the weekend, but from Monday drivers travelling north to south across the A30 will no longer have to negotiate traffic signals, instead using the new layout as per the below diagram:
John Lee, Project Director for principal contractor Costain, said: “As part of the scheme, we’re building 13 new structures in all, both under and over the new A30, with one existing underbridge at Two Burrows being refurbished.
“The Chiverton flyover and Chybucca junction openings represent significant and visible milestones for the project, and in terms of the other structures across the scheme, we’re also progressing the new Carland junction and the ‘green bridge’ structure at Marazanvose.”
Ahead of the weekend closure, Costain will also be working to install Cornwall Council’s Chiverton multi-use bridge, part of their Saints Trails initiative, under overnight closures from Monday, 4 December to Friday, 8 December.
The bridge, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, is part of the St Agnes to Truro cycle path project and forms part of the wider National Highways-funded Saints Trails network, being delivered by Cornwall Council to provide a network of routes for non-motorised users from Perranporth to Goonhavern, St Agnes to Goonbell, Goonbell to Chiverton Cross and Chiverton to West Langarth alongside the A390 Truro road.
And during these closures and the weekend closure, from 8pm on the Friday to 6am on the Monday, westbound traffic will be diverted from Boxheater on the A30 via the B3285 and A3075 to rejoin the A30 at Scorrier, with the eastbound diversion route in reverse.
Due to a low bridge (4.7 metres) at Scorrier, HGVs will be diverted via the A39 at Carland but also have the option to divert to the A390 at Chiverton.
The A30 could be reopened earlier than the 6am deadline on Monday, and in the meantime, drivers can obtain up-to-the-minute travel information via roadside messaging, local radio, the @HighwaysSWEST Twitter feed, by phoning the National Highways Information Line on 0300 123 5000 or by accessing the website: www.trafficengland.com
The new carriageway is scheduled to be opened at the end of winter 2023/2024 and in the meantime more information and further scheme updates are available at National Highways’ A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross web page .
The cost of developing the scheme is being partly funded by an £8 million contribution from the European Regional Development Fund, with an additional £12 million for the construction phase. The remainder of the cost of developing and delivering the scheme is being funded by central Government.
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