One-way system planned for Chester city centre ring road

The new one-way system will affect the Nicholas Street and St Martin's Way dual carriageway section from Grosvenor Roundabout to The Fountains Roundabout, and Pepper Street from The Bars Roundabout to Grosvenor Roundabout. Traffic will still be in two lanes, but in one direction only.

St Oswald's Way will continue to have traffic flowing in both directions.

The new system will be in operation from Monday, November 16, and is expected to last for 12 months.

The reason for the new one-way system is part of the ongoing huge city centre drainage tunnel upgrade project, for which preparation work began in July with a number of lane closures on Nicholas Street, around Grosvenor Roundabout and Castle Drive.

While the upgrade is chiefly to accommodate the extra capacity projected by the much-discussed and now under-construction Northgate Development, Cheshire West and Chester Council has detailed other ways the city will benefit from the project upon its completion.

On the 'Go Clockwise Chester' project website, the council said: "The new drain will result in significant future proof environmental protections and benefits; the council is working with Welsh Water and the Environment Agency to ensure that the drain meets water industry and environmental standards.

"The benefits will include:

• Reducing instances of flooding and drain bursts in the city centre
• Reducing the number of untreated sewage discharges into the river due to heavy rainfall when the current network is already at capacity.
• Diverting rainwater away from the sewer network which will reduce the volume of water requiring sewage treatment and in turn, reduce the energy used as a result
• Maximising the capacity of the existing household and commercial sewer network
• Providing a more efficient and sustainable rainwater drainage network for Chester."

The new drain, almost 1km in length, 1.2m in diameter and requiring nine access shafts 5.5m wide and 7m deep, will run from Princess Street south along St Martin's Way, Nicholas Street, Grosvenor Road and Castle Drive, and will end with a new outfall into the River Dee.

Motorists are advised to help minimise delays by using the A55 or the M56/A494 around the city as an alternate route if possible, or to use Park and Ride or public/active transport.

The council said: "The work will regrettably result in some disruption to traffic, but will enable the transformation of the city centre for the benefit of residents and visitors for decades to come.

"This is a major infrastructure project that will take approximately one year to complete and will have a substantial impact on traffic using the inner ring road.

"We are doing all we can to keep traffic flowing and minimise any inconvenience.

"We believe any short-term disruption will be worth it in the long run and will enable major new and improved city centre facilities such as a new market, a new cinema, parking and public square as part of the first phase of the Northgate development, along with further developments to replace the Forum Shopping Centre.

"These will build on the success of Storyhouse and boost Chester's position as a leading retail, business and tourism destination.

"All city centre car parks will remain open during the drainage works but access to the Market car park will be from the northbound direction only via St Martin's Way.

"For homes and businesses within or near the inner ring road, separate access-only arrangements will be provided."

Responding to why Nicholas Street and St Martin's Way could not be used as a one-lane system in both directions, with works taking place in the central reservation, the council said: "The tunnel shafts cannot operate safely in the central reservations due to the size of the shafts (over 5m in diameter), deliveries to each shaft, collection of the excavations plus site access for the workers.

"Furthermore, one lane in each direction would be more easily be blocked by hold-ups and provide reduced traffic flow than two lanes in one direction; emergency vehicle access would also be hindered with one lane for the length of this section of the inner ring road.

"One-way also enables us to reallocate traffic signal timings from unused junction approaches to maximise green time and thus increase the flow of traffic.

"The tunnel shaft locations cannot be moved so it would be impractical to make traffic lane adjustments, plus the logistics of moving large numbers of cones and signs would also make this impractical and dangerous for staff working in live traffic more often, it would also lead to confusion for as to what was in operation and when.

"However once shafts are completed; phased reopening of traffic lanes may be possible subject to safety criteria and traffic modelling."