'Dangerous and congested' roundabout to be replaced

An artist's impression of the new traffic flow by the Bedminster bridges, looking in the direction of Redcliffe Way. There are cycle lanes and a wide pavement.Image source, Bristol City Council
Image caption,

Work on the new junctions will begin in November, the city council says

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The green light has been given for new "more efficient" junctions to replace a reportedly dangerous and congested roundabout.

Work is due to start this November on scrapping the Bedminster Bridge roundabout in Bristol and replacing it with a series of new junctions.

One bridge will be turned into a two-way road, and the other will become a bus-only bridge. Cycle lanes will be installed too, connecting up several missing links in the city's cycling network.

Bristol City Council will now ask the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) to approve the plans.

The current layout is a hotspot for crashes and often gets congested, councillors on the transport policy committee were told on 20 March.

People walking and cycling over the bridges are squeezed into two pavements, with three lanes for cars and buses.

A public consultation was held about the plans in 2024, finishing in the autumn.

Adam Crowther, head of city transport, said: "While it looks like you're taking out lots of road space and capacity, actually what we're doing is rationalising the movements. That retains a lot of the capacity while then freeing up space to use for other modes.

"That enables us to bring in the bus-only sections and the walking and cycling links."

The bridges will also be repaired and refurbished as part of the works.

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