The Barnstaple Western Bypass is a congestion-relief scheme designed to take road traffic away from the town centre of Barnstaple, a market town in Devon, South West England. Construction of the new road started in the Spring of 2005 and it was opened on 23 May 2007.
The scheme consists of a single two-lane carriageway, one roundabout and three traffic signal controlled junctions. 1.7 miles (2.7 km) of new road was constructed and a 409 metres (447 yards) long, five-span, downstream bridge was built across the River Taw. A new roundabout was created between the Newport and Roundswell roundabouts: this has a feeder lane which provides easy access from the A39 Atlantic Highway to the A361 Braunton Road which generates much of Barnstaple's traffic.
The bridge is a balanced cantilever design with reinforced concrete box girders supporting the arms.
Other constructions include stream culverts, two pedestrian/cycleway underpasses, minor retaining walls, and a 100-metre three span viaduct providing access for buses, cyclists and pedestrians to Barnstaple railway station. The plans allowed for reopening of the Barnstaple-Bideford railway, should this become financially viable.
As with any project of this scale, many companies were employed in the development. Edmund Nuttall Ltd., a major civil engineering group, was the main contractor. It was estimated to cost £42 million. £38 million of this amount came from the central government. Devon County Council also contributed.
An economic impact study estimated that after 5 years the project would generate an extra £248 million in business turnover and would create 1,280 jobs.
Up to 20,000 people were expected to attend the Taw Bridge Family Fun Day.
The event was organised to raise money for charity and to commemorate the completion of the Western Bypass and Downstream Bridge.
The ceremony took place on the Pottington side of the bridge at 11:00 and members of the public were able to walk over the new bridge from 11:30. A Fun Run started from Park School at 12:00.
At 14:30 A tug-of-war competition took place on the bridge itself .
A final grand parade was to start at 16:00 and at 17:30 an evening concert in St Peter's Church was to end the day. [1]
Critics said that the Western Bypass would endanger wildlife and the environment. Friends of the Earth campaigner and Green Party candidate Anthony Bown claimed it would disturb large numbers of seabirds on the Taw and Torridge Estuary, along with the habitat of endangered otters.[ citation needed ]
They were also worried that the bypass would attract more vehicles and therefore further contribute to pollution, but it was also argued[ by whom? ] that the bypass reduced pollution by substantially reducing traffic jams and journey times in and around Barnstaple.
Some locals[ who? ] were also upset that the decoration chosen for one of the new roundabouts comprised Cornish stone, as the road is really a gateway to North Devon.
The old railway line from Barnstaple to Bideford was partially built over, meaning it will be more expensive to re-open the line in the future.
Bideford is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district.
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The Tarka Line, also known as the North Devon Line, is a local railway line in Devon, England, linking the city of Exeter with the town of Barnstaple via a number of local villages, operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). The line opened in 1851 from Exeter to Crediton and in 1854 the line was completed through to Barnstaple. The line was taken over by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1865 and later became part of the Southern Railway and then British Rail. In 2001, following privatisation, Wessex Trains introduced the name Tarka Line after the eponymous character in Henry Williamson's book Tarka the Otter. The line was transferred to First Great Western in 2006.
Fremington is a large village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon, England, the historic centre of which is situated three miles (5 km) west of Barnstaple. The village lies between the south bank of the tidal estuary of the River Taw and a small inlet of that river known as Fremington Pill. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Heanton Punchardon, Ashford, West Pilton, Barnstaple, Tawstock, Horwood, Lovacott and Newton Tracey, and Instow.
The River Taw in England rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into Bideford Bay in the Bristol Channel, having formed a large estuary of wide meanders which at its western end is the estuary of the River Torridge.
The Tarka Trail is a series of footpaths and cyclepaths around north Devon, England that follow the route taken by the fictional Tarka the Otter in the book of that name. It covers a total of 180 miles (290 km) in a figure-of-eight route, centred on Barnstaple.
Barnstaple railway station is the northern terminus of the Tarka Line and serves the town of Barnstaple, Devon. It is 39 miles 75 chains (64.3 km) from Exeter Central and 211.25 miles (339.97 km) from London Waterloo. It is managed by Great Western Railway, which also operates the passenger service.
The North Devon Railway connected Barnstaple to the growing railway network in 1854 and as Ilfracombe developed as a watering place, it was obvious a railway connection to the town was needed. The hilly terrain was very difficult, but an Ilfracombe Railway was authorised in 1864 but failed when a major shareholder was unable to respond to a subscription call. After several false starts the Barnstaple and Ilfracombe Railway, soon taken over by the London and South Western Railway, opened in 1870.
The A380 is a road in South West England, connecting the Torbay area to the Devon Expressway, and hence to the rest of Great Britain's main road network.
The North Devon Railway was a railway company which operated a line from Cowley Bridge Junction, near Exeter, to Bideford in Devon, England, later becoming part of the London and South Western Railway's system. Originally planned as a broad gauge feeder to the Bristol & Exeter Railway, it became part of a battle between the broad gauge group and the standard gauge railway interests. In this context, standard gauge lines were often described as narrow gauge.
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Bideford Long Bridge in North Devon spans the River Torridge near its estuary and connects the old part of the town, and formerly important river port, of Bideford on the left bank with East-the-Water on the right bank. It is one of the longest mediaeval bridges in England, being 677 feet long with 24 arches. In 1790 the bridge was the longest in Devon. It remained the furthest downstream bridge on the river until 1987, when the Torridge A39 Road Bridge was built a mile or so further downstream at Northam. The river is still tidal at Bideford and a very large fluctuation in water levels occurs twice daily under the bridge. An ancient New Year's Eve tradition was to try to run across the Long Bridge during the time taken for the bells of St. Mary's parish church, near the west end, to chime midnight. A sight enjoyed by many in the winter months is of the starlings at dusk, as they come in large flocks to roost underneath the bridge.
Barnstaple Long Bridge is a medieval bridge linking Tawstock with Barnstaple in North Devon, England, spanning the River Taw. One of the largest medieval bridges in Britain, it is a Grade I listed building and ancient monument. Another major medieval bridge, the Bideford Long Bridge over the River Torridge, is a few miles away.
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