daysthree weeks away from the start of the next round of Blake Hell Road, the 20-week long roadworks which will – it feels fair to say – bring chaos to Aldersbrook and beyond.
The replacement of the “gas governor” – the gas main beneath the road – is the cause of the disruption, but it’s the management of traffic which causes as much frustration as cars, buses and other traffic attempts to enter or leave the junction with Cambridge Park.
National Grid, which is replacing the main, has agreed working hours with Redbridge Council, which are Monday – Friday 7.30am to 6pm, and on Saturday 8am-4pm. There will be no major work on Sundays or overnight.
The work will include
- Three-way temporary traffic lights being introduced at the junction of Blake Hall Road, Bush Road and Overton Drive for at least eight weeks.
- Overton Drive itself being closed at the junction of Blake Hall Road from the beginning of August for two months, and the width restrictions on the road will be removed to make sure people can reach their houses.
- Tennyson Ave being closed for three weeks in October.
- Felstead Road being closed for three weeks in November.
National Grid is running a drop-in session at Wanstead Library on Tuesday 7 June from 9am to 9pm for people to find out more about the work and to ask questions. Work itself is due to start on 20 June.
And in the meantime, Wansteadium is delighted to introduce a new Twitter account, @blakehellroad, for a “polite and acccurate” record of the work and the disruption caused. It will be featured on the front page of Wansteadium from today.
So, every other friend I have in Aldersbrook is a builder. How difficult can it be to erect a monorail across Wanstead Park? @blakehellroad
— Martin (@MartinTalbot) May 25, 2016
😱
Tennyson road? Do they mean Tennyson Avenue?
Doh. Yes they do, though that’s not what they said. Now corrected, thanks Stuart
June 20th no?? I panicked there for a moment!! We’ve a month to go…
I’m sure I read somewhere that Blake Hall Road was named after a large house nearby called Bleak Hall. When the old Hall was demolished, they deliberately corrupted the name. Seems it’s about to revert back…
Janice Wells
Dreading it already. Bloody nightmare last time and live just off main road
Isn’t it June 20th? That’s weeks away
Yes, we say the 20th in the piece.
I see. Why would removing width restrictions ensure people can still reach their houses? Surely they can already reach their houses with the width restriction?
Not sure… May be that cars which can’t normally make it through the restrictions near St Mary’s will not have the other way in?? Is that right?
Scott A. Whitehead that’s my point. Wansteadium you’re saying it’s days away, but it’s a month!!
Dreading it – had this for months last year and the road was always gridlocked.
What about ambulances? I am due to give birth in July. Please tell me I’ll be able to get to hospital…!
If they mean to remove the width restrictions by St. Mary’s, that’s going to cause other problems in itself, as part of the reason for those is to cut down on maniac speeds on a junction that has lots of scope as a black spot for accidents, including a blind corner where unseen pedestrians need a chance to get across. Disaster waiting to happen if the mess with that end of the ratrun…