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East West rail, Bletchley to oxford line


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Then on to Charndon, looking west. There are the usual fences at the rights of ways across the line just discernable in the second shot.

 

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Looking east, with the Gawcott - Grendon Underwood raod bridge in view, just beyond being the route of HS2. Not sure why they need that fence there?

 

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And finally Calvert and Steeple Claydon area, where there are multiple compounds/access points, HS2 being the biggest one just north of Calvert Jubilee/EWR.

Views from Calvert station towards Claydon LNE Junction previously obscured by vegetation.

 

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The junction is/was roughly to the left of that big clump of trees below.

 

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Addison Road - Steeple Claydon by the electrical sub-station.

 

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6 hours ago, TylerTrainFan2001 said:

As I went on my travels today, I saw that the workmen were on the bridge above near the roundabout is next to the pub. Looks like they are getting ready for some more sections to be lifted out. Some concrete blocks are missing in the flyover. If you go to duncombe street where Halfords is you will know what I am on about.

I noticed on Friday that work was going on in the Duncombe Street compound next to The Park PH to extend it. It is now much larger than it was before and goes across the entire road (previously a turning area as the old junction was removed years ago). The footpath down the side of the pub is now closed to pedestrians, although a suitable detour past the working mens club is possible. The work to extend the compound looked fairly complete. 

 

Image 1 - Duncombe Street looking towards Bletchley station with Park PH on the right.

 

Image 2 - close up as above showing footpath closure.

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There has been little to report lately. Work is on-going around the various Bletchley sites.

 

Public Notices have appeared on lamp posts relating to the forthcoming closure of the main Buckingham Road between the Police Station roundabout (we have one or two in Milton Keynes!) and the Brunel Centre roundabout which is the dual carriageway section linking West Bletchley with Central Bletchley and Fenny Stratford.

 

This takes effect from the 5th July to 7th December and relates to road closure when work is being carried out. The alternative suggested route is somewhat lengthy which probably means Water Eaton Road is going to be busy and perhaps is one of the reasons why they have removed the chicanes to relieve road congestion when work is in progess.

 

The need for the road closures is to enable the two large arches across Buckingham Road to be removed.

 

The section picture shows the road concerned. The sign is on the lamp post on the corner of Water Eaton Road with the former Telephone Rentals building on the right.

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16 minutes ago, Siberian Snooper said:

I must be in some sort of time warp, as according to my calender it's only the 17 June and the notice has the 23 June and is dated the 26 June.

 

 

 

Well spotted..... Nothing like a bit of proof reading first LOL !!!!!! .... I think the council has covered all their bases if anything goes awry :rtfm:

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1 hour ago, Siberian Snooper said:

I must be in some sort of time warp, as according to my calender it's only the 17 June and the notice has the 23 June and is dated the 26 June.

 

 

When it was being developed they told the public that Milton Keynes was to be "The Town of the Future"

It was obviously correct!:jester:

 

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Based on the the time it has taken to remove each of the previous spans (and presumably reduce them to rubble) does the proposed closure include replacement of the spans as well or is that likely to require a further road closure one wonders?

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2 hours ago, Ray H said:

Based on the the time it has taken to remove each of the previous spans (and presumably reduce them to rubble) does the proposed closure include replacement of the spans as well or is that likely to require a further road closure one wonders?

Information is difficult to ascertain and there is more info on here than anywhere else. It certainly falls well short of what was put out for the WCML route modernisation some 20 years ago now.

 

The road closure notice appeared on a local facebook group to which I was alerted and sure enough during a walk last night it was there for all to see.

 

I would expect at this time it is to cover the removal only hence the time frame. It appears from the wording that the road will only be closed at certain times to facilitate works and will be open at other times.

 

Road signs advising of closures are fairly commonplace at times relating to work being carried out at present (Water Eaton Road is frequently closed during the day to traffic heading towards Water Eaton).

 

I suspect that a similar process will be required whilst the new spans are put in place.

 

Given the lack of available information we will have to see how things progress over the next six months!

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2 minutes ago, 1E BoY said:

Information is difficult to ascertain and there is more info on here than anywhere else. It certainly falls well short of what was put out for the WCML route modernisation some 20 years ago now.

 

The road closure notice appeared on a local facebook group to which I was alerted and sure enough during a walk last night it was there for all to see.

 

I would expect at this time it is to cover the removal only hence the time frame. It appears from the wording that the road will only be closed at certain times to facilitate works and will be open at other times.

 

Road signs advising of closures are fairly commonplace at times relating to work being carried out at present (Water Eaton Road is frequently closed during the day to traffic heading towards Water Eaton).

 

I suspect that a similar process will be required whilst the new spans are put in place.

 

Given the lack of available information we will have to see how things progress over the next six months!


I suspect the whole Covid-19 pandemic has had a big impact here. Although construction works have been ongoing throughout,  the complications of social distancing will have no doubt messed up the specifics and probably made it necessary to reorganise the work schedule.

 

While a different project it should be noted that a resigning Scheme at Hither Green which was planned to be done over a 3 day closure in May was postponed with a revised plan later developed to do it in a 9 day closure in July purely because of social distancing requirements.

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4 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

I must be in some sort of time warp, as according to my calender it's only the 17 June and the notice has the 23 June and is dated the 26 June.

 

 

 

Milton Keyes Summer Double Time obviously ! :laugh_mini:

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Not the easiest to take or the best picture I have ever taken but as they say every picture tells a story!

 

In the compound at the end of Duncombe Street yesterday a large wheel was working  between the sections. It can just be seen to the right of the worker in the centre of the picture. 

 

A new crane is due next month and I expect when it arrives we shall see more visible progress. At the moment the effort is concentrating on getting the various sections ready for removal.

 

The three workers seen in the picture were nowhere near the working wheel which was well away from them. Of course the camera angle makes it look closer than it was!

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Edited by 1E BoY
Clarification
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When the signs appeared on Wednesday there were one or two comments regarding the dates on the Public Notice. Not sure what you are going to make of this?

 

This morning  the road was closed during a walk into town (around 1130) which caught a lot of motorists out (the footpath remained open on both sides but was restricted to the station side on the way back from town).

 

It has taken my son 20 minutes to get through the Water Eaton Road bridge in his car due to the traffic queues (he was driving from his home in Water Eaton to ours for a socially distant chat in the front garden) so I think we can see what the effects are likely to be when the road is closed.

 

Work was going on on the sections over Buckingham Road. The piece being worked on yesterday had a vehicle on top of it.

 

Top picture: looking towards West Bletchley from the Brunel Centre roundabout.

 

Bottom picture: traffic queuing to get down Water Eaton Road at the Police Station roundabout.

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5 hours ago, 1E BoY said:

Not the easiest to take or the best picture I have ever taken but as they say every picture tells a story!

 

In the compound at the end of Duncombe Street yesterday a large wheel was working  between the sections. It can just be seen to the right of the worker in the centre of the picture. 

 

A new crane is due next month and I expect when it arrives we shall see more visible progress. At the moment the effort is concentrating on getting the various sections ready for removal.

 

The three workers seen in the picture were nowhere near the working wheel which was well away from them. Of course the camera angle makes it look closer than it was!

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Looks like some kind of saw, to cut whatever is attaching this span to the next one in preparation for lifting out.  I hope they've cut in the right place and not too deep, as those hard hats won't be much protection if the bridge comes down on them!

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2 hours ago, Edwin_m said:

Looks like some kind of saw, to cut whatever is attaching this span to the next one in preparation for lifting out.  I hope they've cut in the right place and not too deep, as those hard hats won't be much protection if the bridge comes down on them!

At 300 tons per span no chance.

 

Jamie

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A lot of negative comment on local facebook pages regarding the traffic chaos that resulted yesterday and today. The main problem is that people are using Duncombe Street to try to get back on to the main road. Duncombe Street is full of parked cars (residential permit parking) and trying to get down the middle of it in normal circumstances can be interesting!

 

The result was gridlock at times and long queues to get through the small arch bridge that carries the WCML over Water Eaton Road. 

 

We shall see what tomorrow brings.

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It's funny they can remove the old A14 road bridge over both one of the busiest roads in Huntingdon as well as the east coast main line with very limited requirements for road closures or rail service interruptions. yet they need to closed a road for 6 months to remove or repair 3 small spans.

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Edited by cg501
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The closure notice posted by 1E BoY a few posts above states that the Temporary Order 'will take effect at times during the closure period only when works are required'

 

I take that to mean that the road will be closed at times during the 6 month period but only when necessary and with advance warning? Not for the whole 6 months?

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