TfL works on the A40 Western Avenue

These have now started and will be happening until the end of April on sections between Long Lane junction and Greenford Roundabout that will close parts of the road at night. There will also be some lane closures to contend with during the day (see details below):
TfL has now provided some updated details of these roadworks so the Table below is now updated and now shows the sections of the A40 where the works are happening:
 

Road Name Affected	Start Date	End Date	Duration	Carriageway Occupation Time and Day	Works Description/Activity taking place	Traffic Management (including direction of traffic affected)
A40 – Target Roundabout to Greenford Roundabout	25/02/2023	22/04/2023	64 days	24hours a day	VRS Replacement	Lane 3 closures Eastbound and Westbound
A40 – Long Lane to Target Roundabout	24/04/2023	26/04/2023	3 Nights	22:00 – 05:00	installation of new road line marking and removal of temporary barrier	Full Directional Closure Eastbound
A40 – Greenford Roundabout to West End Road	27/04/2023	29/04/2023	3 nights	22:00 – 05:00	installation of new road line marking and removal of temporary barrier	Full Directional Closure Westbound

Temporary 30mph Speed Reduction
Harvil Road now has a temporary speed reduction to 30mph in the section between HS2 Gate 1 (near Shorthill Cottage) and Skip Lane junction. This speed reduction will be shown by 30mph signs being placed on this section of the road by HS2/SCS with the speed reduction in place from when the road reopened on 19/02/23 until works are complete on the realignment of Harvil Road (currently 31/10/23).
 
Breakspear Road South – Ditch Clearance 07/03 & 08/03
 LBH has scheduled some ditch clearance work this week on the section of Breakspear Road South between the Water Pumping Station and Tile Kiln Lane (as shown in Red on the Map below). The works will take place on Tue 07/03 and Wed 08/03 Off-peak during the day, with the use of Stop n Go boards as Traffic Management. 

Breakspear Road South
 HS2/SCS has detailed works on Breakspear Road South that are Programme Critical and must be completed over the next couple of months. The most urgent requirement is to install the Conveyor over Breakspear Road South so that the Conveyor can be connected to the back of the TBMs to carry the materials/spoil from the tunnelling on the Conveyor to the Treatment Area within the Gate 1 Site on Harvil Road. Less urgent but still required are works including a Utilities Trench across the road for the connection for the TBM water supply, a Concrete Pour for the deck of the new HS2 Bridge and Patch Repairs to Pot Holes around Chiltern Bridge area to HS2 Site entrance.
 
Night Time Road Closures Wed 15/03 to Sun 19/03 
LBH has agreed to allow HS2/SCS to carry out Night Time Road Closures of Breakspear Road South from Wed 15/03 to Sun 19/03. The Road will be Closed from 10pm to 5am Wed 15/03 & Thur 16/03, and 10pm to 6am Fri 17/03, Sat 18/03 & Sun 19/03. A Contingency Plan is also in place for following weekend (Night Time Closures 25/03 & 26/03) should this work not be completed. 

The following activities are scheduled to be carried out during this closure:

• Conveyor installation
• Installation of Signs and Lines for the Chiltern Bridge Mitigations
• Installation of Gantry (or Goal Posts) for the Chiltern Bridge Mitigations
• Concrete Pour for the deck of the new HS2 Bridge

 
Easter School Holidays Road Closure Sat 01/04 AM to Sun 16/04 PM 
Network Rail has approached LBH about closing Breakspear Road South while they undertake essential repairs to the Chiltern Bridge. LBH Officers have consented to collaborative works that will involve Network Rail and HS2/SCS carrying out multiple activities during this road closure. 

• Activities:
  • Network Rail – Repair of Bridge, Examination of Structure & Vegetation works
  • HS2/SCS – Installation of Utilities Trench for the connection for the TBM water supply, Patch Repairs to Pot Holes around Chiltern Bridge area to HS2 Site entrance 

Moorhall Road – Upcoming works April 2023
 In advance of the Colne Valley Viaduct being built over Moorhall Road later this year, HS2/Align will be starting to prepare the area to be able to accommodate the Viaduct Crossing works.
 
The first stage of this will involve an overnight Road Closure of Moorhall Road by the HS2 Sites on Sun 16/04 from 11.59pm until Mon 17/04 at 5am. This is to install a Narrow Lanes Setup which will see the Eastbound Lane narrowed to allow construction of Columns to support the Viaduct during construction.
 
The Narrow Lanes Setup will then be in place from 17/04 until 27/10 but there should be no disruption to the flow of traffic with the Narrow Lane as 3.5 metres of width will be maintained on each carriageway in this location.
 
LBH Officers are yet to receive full details of the proposals for the Viaduct Crossing works but once I am in a position to communicate the plans I will do so.

Tunnel Boring Machines Launched from West Ruislip
HS2/SCS launched the 2^nd  Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) named Caroline at the West Ruislip Portal Site at the end of October 2022 (following the launch of the 1^st TBM called Sushila in early October 2022). The 2 TBMs will operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week and will tunnel from West Ruislip towards Green Park Way in the London Borough of Ealing and it is expected that tunnelling works will take until June 2024 to complete. 

Rail Siding Test and Segment Delivery to West Ruislip 
With the TBMs now fully operational, HS2/SCS need to increase the deliveries of Tunnel Segments (the concrete ‘rings’ required by the TBMs to construct the tunnel lining as they progress) to the West Ruislip Portal Site.  

A new Railway Siding now provides direct access from the Chiltern Line into the Segment Yard at West Ruislip so that Tunnel Segments can be directly delivered into Site by Rail rather than by road/lorry. HS2 have recently been testing the Rail Siding over the last few weeks. If these tests are successful HS2 plan to run the train five nights each week although there may be periods when this extends to seven nights per week.  

The plan will be for one train to arrive at West Ruislip each night delivering 20 rings, each comprising of 7 segments. There will be a slight overlap and HS2 will continue with lorry deliveries in the short term until they have built up a stockpile of Segments. The volume of rail traffic on the Chiltern Line through West Ruislip means that the train can only deliver Segments at night so the train will arrive at West Ruislip around 11pm. The locomotive will then divide the train into two parts and shunt them into the Siding. The locomotive will then shut down while the gantry crane unloads the Segments, and the locomotive will restart at around 6am and shunt the train back into one piece prior to departure at around 7am.