Brentford Warned to Brace for 'Carmageddon'
Commencement of A4 roadworks likely to cause traffic chaos until Christmas
Significantly heavier traffic expected in the area
Brentford residents are being warned to brace themselves for an extended period of traffic chaos dubbed ‘Carmageddon’ by one local councillor.
Starting late this Friday evening (5 August) there will be a major project taking place to carry out maintenance work on a section of the A4 in Chiswick which carries traffic over a railway line. The Cromwell Road Rail Bridge will be worked on for much of the rest of the year culminating in closures of the M4/A4 from junction 2 to Hogarth Roundabout for some weekends in the run up to Christmas.
The works are expected to have a massive impact on local traffic with some diversions likely to bring vehicles towards the Brentford area.
At 10pm this Friday (5 August) the A4 will be shut westbound between Hogarth Roundabout and Chiswick Roundabout until 5am the following morning at which point one westbound lane will reopen and this will remain the situation until the 15 September. On the 17 September the westbound carriageway will be reduced to one lane again and only two lanes on the eastbound carriageway will be open. These lane closures will be in place until 12 October.
One local councillor speaking on an unattributable basis said, “Although the location of these works is in Chiswick, Brentford may actually suffer just as badly. It’s going to be Carmageddon across west London. In the initial stage I can see traffic approaching from the south choosing to cross Kew Bridge rather than Chiswick Bridge.
“It might just get worse in the later phases for Brentford when the lane reductions on the A4 are east bound and then there are the closures that include the M4 all when the schools are back. From now to the end of the year residents should assume significantly increased journey times either when driving or going by bus.”
Traffic impact map issued by TfL
TfL says that these works will improve the long-term condition of the bridge, road and pavements and will avoid the need for more disruptive and expensive repairs at a later date.
The work will require a full closure of the road in one direction on occasions and, more regularly closure of traffic lanes. All full directional closures will take place overnight or at weekends. On weekdays, there will be at least one lane open for traffic in both directions at all times.
The bridge over the rail tracks on the A4 which needs repairing. Picture: Google Streetview
The works will be completed in three phases and to prepare for each phase of work, there will be overnight directional closures, to install and remove traffic management.
Phase 1 - 5:00am 6 August to 10pm 15 September
Eastbound: no closures
Westbound: 1 lane open
Traffic will not be able to join the A4 Great West Road from Milnthorpe Road.
Phase 2 - 5:00am 17 September to 10pm 12 October
Eastbound: 2 lanes open
Westbound: 1 lane open
Traffic will not be able to join the A4 Great West Road from Milnthorpe Road.
Phase 3 - 5am 14 October to 10pm 25 November
Eastbound: 2 lanes open
Slip road to join the A4 eastbound at Chiswick roundabout will be closed. There will be a diversion route to Hogarth Roundabout
Traffic will not be able to join the A4 Great West Road from the following roads and will need to join the A4 at Hogarth roundabout (eastbound and westbound), or at Chiswick roundabout (westbound only):
- Milnthorpe Road
- Palladian Gardens
- Sutherland Road
- Park Road
- Eastbourne Road
- Harvard Hill
Westbound: No closure
Weekend directional closures
Following phase 3, there will be 2 weekend full eastbound closures between M4 junction 2 and Hogarth Roundabout. These closures will run from 11am on Friday to 5pm on Monday on the following dates:
Friday 25 November and Monday 28 November
Friday 2 December and Monday 5 December
Signed diversion routes will be in place for local traffic.
Overnight directional closures
There will be overnight closures eastbound between M4 junction 3 and Chiswick Roundabout and westbound between Chiswick Roundabout and Hogarth Roundabout.
Closures will run from 10pm until 5:00am the next day (except on 16 September).
There will be closures on these dates:
5 August: westbound
15 September: westbound
16 September: westbound closure from 11pm
12 October: westbound
13 October: Eastbound
Signed diversion routes will be in place.
If needed, there will be full directional closures with signed diversions on these weekends:
From 11pm Friday 9 December to 5am Monday 12 December
From 11pm Friday 16 December to 5am Monday 19 December
Location of the works
During the works TfL advises using the A40 Westway and M40 to travel between Central London and the M25.
If you have to use this part of the A4 Great West Road, allow more time for your journey and travel at quieter times if possible.
Pavements will be closed on the following dates:
5 September-15 September pavement closed on westbound carriageway side, between Harvard Hill and Oxford Road South
13 November-25 November pavement closed on eastbound carriageway side between Oxford Road North and Harvard Hill
There will be signed diversion routes via the subway at Harvard Hill and the underpass on Wellesley Road. TfL says there will be staff around to help people walking at all times.
No buses will be on diversion during these works but some buses may experience local delays, especially at busier times.
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August 5, 2022