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White Hart roundabout will be reopening on Sunday (14 November) following major reconstruction work to increase the life expectancy of the road.
Although the roundabout will be open, work will be continuing on site so there will still be traffic management in place on the road, including lane closures and temporary signage.
There is also surfacing work left to complete on the A420 and surrounding slip roads which will be carried out between mid-November and early December under night-time closures, to reduce the impact on residents and businesses. Further details of these closures will be communicated via our Facebook page.
Why was this work needed?
White Hart roundabout was originally built in the 1970s and had reached the end of its service life. The impact of increasing traffic levels and modern heavy goods vehicles over that period had left the roundabout foundation in poor condition, resulting in increasing numbers of potholes and wider surface defects.
What did the work involve?
Over the last three months, our contractor, Osborne Infrastructure Ltd, has dug down almost a metre beneath the surface to build a new structure for the road base. The new stronger carriageway is 45 per cent thicker than before.
The reconstruction work has not been without its challenges. During excavation, our contractor discovered that the higher-than-expected groundwater table had severely weakened the underlying clay which holds up the road base. But, through careful planning and extended working hours, the contractor has been able to shorten the programme and take advantage of the dry weather through September and October.
When will the overall scheme be completed?
The overall £30m White Hart junction improvement scheme is due to be completed in February next year when the new northbound slip road to the A419 will be opened.
These improvements are part of a programme of work to upgrade the roads surrounding the New Eastern Villages (NEV) development. The schemes at Gablecross roundabout, Nythe Road junction and Piccadilly roundabout are also progressing well despite utility complications, and are scheduled to be completed this winter. These roads remain open to motorists, but please be mindful of the operatives working on these schemes when travelling in the area.
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