Staffordshire County Council
Published: 24 May 2024
Briefing Note: A38 (Northbound Slip Road) Long-Term Closure and Diversion
Closure
The A38 northbound slip road will close on 24 June 2024 until 30 September 2024. It will then temporarily reopen from 30 September 2024 to November 2025. Then to complete the works, the slip road will close from November 2025 for 10 months until September 2026.
The long-term closure of the A38 northbound slip road necessitates a diversion along Cappers Lane, joining the A38 southbound from that junction, then and a U-turn at the Swinfen Interchange to join the A38 northbound, with an additional journey time of 7 minutes.
Additionally, National Highways informed SCC yesterday (23 May) that they will be closing Swinfen island for full resurfacing between 21:00 on 25 June to 06:00 on 29 June. Swinfen island is on the diversion route for the on slip closure so this will result in the diversion being extended for the period of these works.
SCC understand that NH have designed the signage with the on-slip closure in mind after discussion with HS2 Ltd and will take traffic down to Wall island before coming back up. SCC involvement in any similar discussions in future has been requested.
Schedule 4 Process
The process for managing any interference with the Highway Network is detailed in Schedule 4 of the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017. To undertake any such interference, including that detailed above, HS2 Ltd must submit a Schedule 4 permit to SCC with a preferred minimum of 28 days’ notice.
Prior to the formal submission, a multi-agency meeting is conducted known as the Staffordshire Pre-Application Forum. In ‘Pre-App’ the impacted local authorities meet with the contractor to discuss all aspects of the works required. In the case of the A38 closure, SCC, National Highways and Lichfield District Council met with HS2 Ltd and Balfour Beatty Vinci (BBV). We do not accept Schedule 4 submissions without first having held the appropriate pre-application meetings, and they are held every fortnight.
When any issues raised during the pre-application process have been resolved, a formal permit is submitted to SCC’s Network Management Team via Street Manager for co-ordination.
Monitoring and Management
In terms of monitoring, we have requested that the A38 closure is added to the ‘Pre-App’ agenda as a standing item for the duration of the works.
Diversion routes are advisory, and it is not possible to guarantee that all drivers will use them. However, it is possible to maximise the chances using appropriate signage placement and journey time information. HS2 Ltd.’s contractor are responsible for providing signage for this diversion. We have therefore also requested that HS2 Ltd bring a representative from their main works contractor BBV or Traffic Management contractor to the next meeting, to enable Network Management colleagues to discuss what they think would work best.
Such measures could include supplementing standard signage with additional information, earlier placement of signage, identifying symbols, VMS signage at strategic locations and additional diversion time on signage. Traffic counts could also be used to assess how closely the diversion is being followed.
SCC Key Contacts
Richard Peers: Senior Engineer, HS2 Team
Bryan Delanchy: Traffic and Network Coordination Manager, Network Management
Stakeholder Engagement by HS2 Ltd
· SCC and LDC Officers A38 Update: A meeting hosted by HS2 on 3 May 2024, providing a detailed update on the A38 diversion plan.
· Advanced Work Notice: An email distributed on 3 May 2024 to county councillors, district councillors, and parish councils. This notice, attached for reference, ensures all relevant parties are informed.
· HS2 Members Briefing (Lichfield District): A meeting held on 8 May 2024 to brief members on the implications and plans for the A38 diversion.