MOTORISTS in Dunstable are expecting “traffic chaos” from Monday, as College Drive closes for seven weeks to allow construction to begin on the Luton-Dunstable guided busway.
Central Bedfordshire Council is reminding residents who live or work in Dunstable that College Drive between Court Drive and Boscombe Road will be closed from July 4 until August 21.
The local authority says it has planned the work “to coincide with school and college holidays to reduce the impact on peak time traffic”.
But members of the Don’t Let Dunstable Die Facebook site have reacted angrily to the plans.
Diane Jackson wrote: “We have to put up with eight weeks of traffic chaos while College Drive is closed. I don’t want to think about what will happen when something happens on the M1 – the whole area really will be gridlocked.”
And Nigel Brereton added: “What a total waste of money, wherever it came from...”
During the closure, the council will be working to construct a new junction for the busway at the intersection of the old railway line.
The junction will have a set of traffic signals installed – which will be used when a bus leaves the busway to join the carriageway – along with cycle and pedestrian facilities and a 20mph speed restricted zone with traffic calming measures, which will be later extended to Court Drive to create a pedestrian-friendly environment.
Councillor Brian Spurr, responsible for sustainable communities services at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “While the process of installing this new junction will create some short term inconvenience it is great to see work getting under way on this scheme. We do have planned diversion routes in place for drivers which will help to keep disruption to a minimum.”
Traffic will be diverted via Boscombe Road, Luton Road, Church Street, High Street North, Queensway, Court Drive and Kingsway and vice versa for the reverse route. Pedestrian access will continue as normal.
Grove Theatre is advising customers to allow more time for their journey to the venue during peak times and to check traffic conditions before travelling.
Loud work like demolitions will only be carried out between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 12.30pm on Saturdays.
Mr Spurr added: “The delivery of the busway is expected to stimulate a significant increase of visitors into Dunstable and indeed Houghton Regis which will greatly benefit the retail opportunities of the towns, while also improving the journey times in this part of Central Bedfordshire.”
The busway is due to open in 2013.