A303/A30/A358 Corridor Feasibility Study Stage 1 Report Stage 1 Report A303/A30/A358 Corridor Feasibility Study Prepared for The Highways Agency Date: February 2015 Elms House 43 Brook Green London W6 7EF A303/A30/A358 Corridor Feasibility Study Stage 1 Report Table of contents List of tables .....................................................................................................................2 Acronyms and abbreviations ...........................................................................................4 Executive summary ...........................................................................................................i 1 Introduction and purpose ..........................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 1.2 Study scope .............................................................................................................1 1.3 Study aims and objectives ........................................................................................3 1.4 Report structure .......................................................................................................4 2 Background and historical work................................................................................5 2.1 Background ..............................................................................................................5 2.2 Previous work and decisions .....................................................................................5 2.3 A303 Working Group ................................................................................................6 2.4 Sources ................................................................................................................. 11 2.5 Availability of existing transport modelling ................................................................ 11 2.6 Potential for modal transfer and travel demand reduction ......................................... 12 3 Understanding the current situation........................................................................ 14 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 14 3.2 National, Regional and Local Policy ........................................................................ 14 3.3 Route description, characteristics and standards ..................................................... 18 3.4 Traffic .................................................................................................................... 24 3.5 Current Route Performance Indicators .................................................................... 30 3.6 Environmental Constraints ...................................................................................... 45 3.7 Other Issues and Constraints .................................................................................. 56 3.8 Economic baseline ................................................................................................. 57 3.9 Summary ............................................................................................................... 59 4 Understanding the future situation.......................................................................... 63 4.1 General .................................................................................................................. 63 4.2 Future policies and priorities ................................................................................... 63 4.3 Future growth ......................................................................................................... 63 4.4 Future changes to the transport system ................................................................... 66 4.5 Future travel demands ............................................................................................ 68 4.6 Future performance ................................................................................................ 68 4.7 Summary ............................................................................................................... 75 A303/A30/A358 Corridor Feasibility Study Stage 1 Report 5 Establish the need for intervention ......................................................................... 78 5.1 Current transport-related problems .......................................................................... 78 5.2 Future transport-related problems ........................................................................... 80 6 Identifying objectives for the study ......................................................................... 82 7 Geographic area of interest ..................................................................................... 83 8 Conclusions and recommendations ........................................................................ 85 8.1 Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 85 8.2 Recommendations ................................................................................................. 86 List of tables Table 2-1: Initial Improvement Options ................................................................................7 Table 2-2: Current PCF Stage of Improvement Schemes/Sections .......................................9 Table 2-3 : Comparison of journey times between the south west and London .................... 12 Table 3-1: Corridor Sections and Lengths .......................................................................... 18 Table 3-2: Corridor Cross-Section Lengths ........................................................................ 20 Table 3-3 A303/A30/A358 2013 Traffic Flows .................................................................... 24 Table 3-4: August Uplifts Relative October - 2013 .............................................................. 25 Table 3-5: AADT Traffic Growth on the A30 & A303 Since 2008 ......................................... 29 Table 3-6: AADT Traffic Growth Since 2004 (DfT Sources) ................................................ 30 Table 3-7: Corridor CRFs & Stresses – 2013 Neutral Month ............................................... 33 Table 3-8: Corridor CRFs & Stresses – 2013 Summer Month ............................................. 33 Table 3-9: Weekday Travel Times & Speeds ..................................................................... 37 Table 3-10: Saturday Travel Times & Speeds .................................................................... 37 Table 3-11: Sunday Travel Times & Speeds ...................................................................... 38 Table 3-12: OTRM 2013 Summary .................................................................................... 40 Table 3-13: Personal Injury Accident Severity by Year for Study Corridor ............................ 42 Table 3-14: PIA Data for Single Carriageway Sections of the Corridor ............................... 43 Table 3-15 : Casualty Data for Single Carriageway Sections of the Corridor ....................... 44 Table 3-16: Locations of Flood Risk on the A30 and A303 .................................................. 46 Table 3-17: Water Environment Designations .................................................................... 47 Table 3-18: Heritage & Historic Resources ........................................................................ 48 Table 3-19: Ecological Sites .............................................................................................. 49 Table 3-20: Landscape Features ....................................................................................... 50 Table 3-21: First Priority Location Summary....................................................................... 51 Table 3-22: Locations of Water Pollution Risk on the A30 and A303 ................................... 52 A303/A30/A358 Corridor Feasibility Study Stage 1 Report Table 3-23: Landfill Designation ........................................................................................ 52 Table 4-1: Committed Local Transport Network Enhancement Schemes with Relevance to the Corridor ...................................................................................................................... 67 Table 4-2: TEMPRO 6.2 2021, 2031 and 2041 Household & Jobs Forecasts ...................... 69 Table 4-3: Corridor CRFs & Stresses – Neutral Month ....................................................... 70 Table 4-4: Corridor CRFs & Stresses – Summer Month...................................................... 70 Table 4-5: Lengths (km) of Corridor at Different Stresses - Neutral Month ........................... 72 Table 4-6: Lengths (%) of Corridor at Different Stresses - Neutral Month ............................ 73 Table 4-7: Mvkm at Different Stresses - Neutral Month ....................................................... 73 Table 4-8: Lengths (km) of Corridor at Different Stresses - Summer Month ......................... 74 Table 4-9: Lengths (%) of Corridor at Different Stresses - Summer Month........................... 74 Table 4-10: Mkm at Different Stresses - Summer Month ..................................................... 75 Table 5-1: PIA Summary (2008 to 2012 for A30 and A303, 2009 to 2013 for A358) ............. 79 Table 5-2: Million Vehicle Kilometres at Different