Exeter roundabout to get £2.2million pounds worth of improvements

Traffic queues back onto the A30 and M5 at J29.

The scheme aims to end the significant queuing in peak period at the roundabout and address the safety issue of the queues on the A30/Honiton Road westbound approach to Moor Lane Roundabout extending back onto the M5 at Junction 29 in the morning.

The proposed improvements and preferred option involve:

• An additional lane from the Avocet Road junction to create a fourth lane at the roundabout
• Widening of Ambassador Drive to create a northbound merge lane at the Emperor Way roundabout
• Widening the existing refuge islands on the western arms of Emperor Way and Oberon Road
• Widening the shared paths on Ambassador Drive and reducing clutter
• Remarking the lanes on Moor Lane roundabout to create two right turn lanes from Honiton Road to Ambassador Drive

Cllr Andrea Davis, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Development and Waste,  said: “The roundabout is very busy and often in the morning queues stretch back to the M5 which is a significant safety concern. These works will improve traffic flows, address this safety issue, and cut congestion, and as well we are upgrading facilities for pedestrians and cyclists on the western side of Ambassador Drive.

“This is a fantastic good news story and will benefit the local businesses and their workers and people trying to get in and out of Exeter, and anything that can improve access to the park-and-ride and make it more attractive for people and so they don’t have to drive into Exeter has got to be a good thing.”

Dave Black, Head of Planning, Transportation and Environment, added that the Moor Lane scheme was part of a package of improvement measures for the Exeter & East Devon Growth Point area.

He said that while the council were spending £2m on this highway improvement scheme, £8m was being spent on sustainable travel measures, including the E4 cycle route and a park and change facility near the Science Park.

Cllr Carol Whitton said the improvements were welcome, but that the fact this improvement scheme was necessary raises the question about how we move people from where they live to where they work in a way that will not add to the climate change problem.

But Cllr Rufus Gilbert said that he welcomed the scheme, saying: “It is needed and good for all the right reasons, and it will still be needed though when we are driving electric cars.”

Mr Black’s report says that there is a planning condition to expand Cranbrook beyond 6,500 homes requiring an improvement scheme, and that improvements to the roundabout will help to unlock that housing, improve access to employment opportunities in the East of Exeter, and improve journey time reliability for public transport users through the junction.

The report said that it is anticipated that there will be some negative impacts as a result of traffic management during the construction works, but adds: “This negative impact will be mitigated as far as possible by liaising with Devon County Council’s highway co-ordination, local businesses and traffic management groups.”

It adds: “The project is a planning requirement of Highways England, provides improved egress from Sowton Industrial estate to roads that have available capacity, and provides additional capacity from the A30/Honiton approach relieving queuing extending back onto the M5.

“The junction is also at the heart of the East-West corridor. Its operation is critical to the performance of the city’s network, including those bus routes that pass through it. The improvement does provide benefits to sustainable users, notably exit to the Park and Ride site, and pedestrians and cyclists on the western side of Ambassador Drive.”

The overall construction cost of the proposal is estimated to be £2,226,578, with a significant portion of the costs, approximately £850,000, relating to the cost of utilities diversions.

£692,786 of the funding comes from a National Productivity Investment Fund grant, with £618,520 grant received from Highways England Housing and Growth Fund, and £915,272 from S106 contributions received from Hill Barton Farm.

The total package, which will also see delivery of parts of the E4 cycle route and a new Park and Change site near Exeter Science Park, is now estimated at £9.039m, comprising £4.155m grant and £4.884m match funding, with a report on the Park and Change site to come before the cabinet later in the year.