Thursday 9 March 2017

The Chilton Interchange Pt Two



The first week back at work for me and noting had happened on the interchange it still looked like it was before the year ended, mind you it had rained and did it rain which lead me to believe they had not started because of it.






All the plant looks the same parked up





but I did get a chance to get a view of the huge hole which had been dug out on the bridleway





Round the south bound slip road side there was a huge puddle of water















The next week it looked different with a lot of construction traffic moving about






along with earth being moved



the South bound site had just as much work going on as well













Week three and the first layer of a road had been put down, recycled material





and from the looked formed a road down the site




Round the South bound site there were a lot of fenced off areas where manholes had been dug









Surveyors were seen taking readings










The first week into Feb and you could see things again were moving along















as they had placed cones on the sliproad coming off the north bound A34




more cones marked out the service road for the interchange site offices















What I noticed on the other side was that a lot of pea shingle had arrived for the drainage going in




Feb also saw the sliproad off the A34 having an upgrade in that it was widened




and built out to move the road over





The road was taking shape as it lead down to the A34




Around the Southbound side a lot of fencing had been placed around the drains going in














This photo was to show the road leading to Hagbourne Hill, I suspected it would change soon after









Towards the end of Feb the roundabout on the North side carriageway was beginning to take shape and have hardcore laid




The new off sliproad was built up





and surveyors were taking measurements





so by the end of Feb they were laying the kerb stones on the South bound roundabout and sliproad




The road by the fence now awaiting connecting to the new part






The road layout  now shaping out





It would not be long before this view changed














Mid March saw things had moved on again




With the road and kerb stones clearly in place





right down to the hardcore base





Down by the bridleway you could see rebar being erected for the bridge or tunnel






Traffic islands were clearly seen on the South bound side roundabout





and  the new North bound off sliproad was nearing the time the tarmac was laid




Above a stitch shot of South Side off the A34 roundabout. On the left you can see the pelleted kerb stones waiting to be laid












Further down the site scaffold is in place for building up the rebar





Round near the village and the Hagbourne road you can see the fence is now moved out






with lots of work happening




The drains are in place on the roundabout



and the widened sliproad  has soil laid up the side of the sliproad
















Round the A34 south side they had laid the hardcore






and the surface looked like it would soon be getting a layer of tarmac













Two days later that is just what happened















The first layer of asphalt went down






Above it was still going on when I too this photo from the car at the traffic lights. On the right they were getting the sliproad ready for a layer of tarmac the following week












The new surface soon got dirty from the construction traffic
















The embankment of the roundabout on the North bound side was also getting a surface of topsoil













April came and the road by the sliproad had a blue line marking where the kerb was going and the road diverted














Took a reference photo of the road at the time before the roundabout was built





The roundabout on the other hand seem to be taking ages to get done though they were laying the chevrons on the roundabout














The sliproad looked about ready for tarmac













Further down site scaffold was in place and from the look shuttering for the concrete














Mid April and the Islands on the South bound roundabout were in-filled with hardcore




The new road was taking shape now





Above they had placed traffic lights on the road for single lane use and on the old sliproad off the A34 going North the Surface had been laid on the extension








How often do you get to stand in the middle of a sliproad to get a photo with no traffic





opposite the site seem to change slowly




by the end of April you could see the concrete on the bridge side where the shuttering had been removed














The Southbound roundabout now looked like it should be with the chevrons nearly done




Second week of May and the surface was laid










the first layer was going down















The old road coming off the A34 had holes in where the pecker had drilled





and on the other roundabout the traffic was diverted around the roundabout while the kerbing went in and the old road removed












You could see some peck marks in the road




On the North bound Roundabout all you could see where cones

















and more tarmac going down


Around May time I started visiting on a Friday evening as I found it a little uncomfortable taking photos while people were at work as they kept looking at me when I took them like this one where the footpath is being removed. I think they felt I was spying





The roundabout was really moving on with the surface being laid down the sliproad





It was looking near to a finished state

Not a good stitch but shows the roundabout coming off the South side of the A34





Traffic light were still directing the traffic as well



but the old road was now gone from site and a new footpath had gone in



The contractors went though water in the heat





the new sliproad extension open and in use, you can see over on the right the oldone has been backfilled






The South off roundabout now with a covering of topsoil













Waiting at the traffic lights going towards the South off Roundabout















They also started to redevelop the footpath by Chilton Village

















and the roadside was tided up on the other side













so by June they were laying a new path on the old entrance road to Manor Court





by then a drainage pond had been dug and culvert put in





all that was needed was the road to be finished off and the roundabout would be in use















Over on the Bridleway the tunnel had now been cast and you could see the roof and parapet in place





The roundabout was all but finished





and they had now cut a small trench for the kerb stones on the North bound Roundabout




Though they were still working on the bridleway bridge
















made me wonder how long it would be before the backfilled it
The northbound roundabout from near the sliproad at the end of June






In mid July I looking towards where the road is being diverted






The island near Chilton Garden Centre had been back filled with topsoil







And on the opposite side the island was complete now forcing traffic around the roundabout










 Which now had the chevrons around 90% of the circumference





The old one at Chilton was being updated

















New markings had been placed on the road near the roundabout off the North bound carriageway






and the new surface was going down in the sliproad off the A34 South





the roundabout was all but finished




More than could be said for the other where Thames Water wer3e laying new pipes. I wondered why it could not have been done months ago before it started





The sliproad on was more of a parking lot




with all types of stuff left there over the weekend















but the bridge was back filled and had an excavator parked on it





By August the old roundabout was looking new

so was the embankment off the South side carriageway 





Buy September the roundabout was clear




so was the sliproad till the next car appered








work was going on with the bridleway bridge as they finished off the work





The other side was done






In October traffic light appeared on the crossing

















and I had a walk up the sliproad coming off the A34




and took a photo of the new sign






Both on sliproad




and off sliproads were finished





with a sweeping road to the A34





clear access to the roundabouts

















November and all the roads were clear














Traffic lights were working


















On November the 10th 2016 the new interchange opened for use just over two years since it was announced

 




The whole road system around Chilton had changed for good. Why it was never built in the first place I do not know but it can only be a benefit to the Harwell campus which is expanding and the ever expanding housing estates in the area.





Hope you have enjoyed the work I have done on this project there is a more in-depth article on Geograph plus over 1000 photos that went into covering it. Now what next