A386 dualling scheme agreed
THE last hurdle for plans 43 years in the making to tackle one of Plymouth’s worst traffic bottlenecks have been given the go-ahead.
Council planners have signed off on the scheme for the north of the city which is designed to alleviate congestion at the notorious pinch-point between Woolwell Roundabout and The George Junction.
The scheme was first included in the 1979 Devon Structure Plan and then carried through into the current Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan. More than 30,000 vehicles use this section of the A386 Tavistock Road each day. There are often queues and delays at peak times, caused by traffic having to merge over short distances.
Under the overall plans, Tavistock Road will be widened to provide a dual carriageway and Woolwell roundabout will be replaced with a signalised junction. A new junction will also be created at Woolwell Crescent.
In addition, there will also be new and upgraded footways and cycleways and safer crossing points to support active travel. A second level will also be added onto the George Park and Ride site. And finally, 43 years later, the works are about to start in 2023. Two separate, but linked, applications for a Certificate of Proposed Lawful Development, have this week been granted under delegated powers by Plymouth City Council. One is for highway works to include a new junction, road widening, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, landscaping and ancillary works at the Woolwell
Roundabout. The second is for similar works on Tavistock Road.
Phase 1 would improve walking and cycling provision along Tavistock Road, Woolwell Road and Woolwell Crescent. The development would introduce a new signalised junction from Woolwell Crescent onto Tavistock Road. This would allow traffic to access the Tesco superstore without using Woolwell Roundabout, relieving congestion at this roundabout.
Phase 2 would improve Woolwell Roundabout and Tavistock Road by removing the roundabout and introducing a new signalised junction. The intention is to improve transport and traffic flows in north Plymouth.
Details with the application, which officers agreed was permitted development, added: “The improvements are required to support planned development of north Plymouth. This is especially including land allocated for development.
“The highway improvements proposed will all be within or adjacent to the highway boundary, and would not have significant environmental effects.”
Phase A of the dualling works – the section at Woolwell Road – is due to commence in January 2023. Phase B – the section from Woolwell Crescent Junction and Tavistock Road up to Woolwell Roundabout – is slated to get under way in March 2023.