Work has recently started on the long awaited Baldock bypass.
The £43 million road, which has been funded by a Department for Transport grant, will link the A1(M) with the A505 - relieving traffic congestion caused by three principal roads converging in Baldock's busy town centre.
Hertfordshire County Council has responsibility for the bypass and work is being carried out in partnership with MouchelParkman. Norwest Holst is constructing the new road, after successfully bidding for the contract through a formal tendering process.
The 6.5km bypass will link the A1(M) with the A505. It will start from the A1(M) Letchworth Gate interchange where the A6141 will be extended by 200 metres to a new roundabout on the bypass. A major feature of the new road will be the 230 metre-long tunnel through the Weston Hills, which will maintain the existing landscape.
As part of the preparation for the new road, archaeologists from Albion Archaeology excavated sections of the route. They discovered a Bronze Age funerary complex, Iron Age and Roman boundary ditches and a Medieval leper hospital. The recorded findings and the artefacts will go to Letchworth Museum.
A detailed report by the Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre identified all animals and plants in the area and as a result measures are being incorporated into the construction of the bypass to protect the local wildlife. These measures include badger tunnels, badger and deer proof fencing and the relocation of common lizards and two small areas of chalk grassland. New habitats are being created for two rare butterflies - the Small Blue and the Chalkhill Blue - and the bypass will be landscaped with new trees, hedgerows, wildflowers and grassland.
Local people have been kept informed and involved with the project on a number of levels:
And there are plans to visit local schools, to organise a drop in point and a viewing platform near the site in the future.
The bypass is due to open in Autumn 2006. More details can be found at www.hertsdirect.org/baldockbypass.
Protecting wildlife while we build the by-pass is important. Equally important is the protection and enhancement of habitats so that wildlife is encouraged to return once construction has been completed.
Before work started we deterred ground-nesting birds by removing crops and topsoil along the route.
Where hedges had to be grubbed up, we made sure no birds were nesting there.
Two colonies of common lizards are being relocated safely away from the road.
Important areas of chalk grassland will be moved to new locations. A new habitat will be created for two rare butterflies - the small blue and chalkhill blue - by putting in ledges on the slopes of the road cutting and sowing specially selected plant seeds.
Existing badger setts will be protected during road construction and three badger tunnels will be installed at critical locations along the route of the new bypass. Badger and deer-proof fencing will be put up at key locations to protect these species from traffic once the road is opened.
A bridge will be built to allow any wildlife to cross over the road safely and bat boxes will be put up in mature trees. New planting in ponds will create the right balance for wildlife.
Landscaping along the by-pass will create valuable new habitats for a wide variety of wildlife, include the planting of new native species of trees, hedgerows, wildflowers and grassland. However, this will only be done in sympathy with the local landscape. East of Baldock the landscape is very open, with very few hedges and no trees. This landscape will be retained because it is important for declining farmland birds such as the corn bunting.
Most of the excavated material will be used on site either to form the road embankments or to construct the environmental mounds. This strategy will mean fewer lorry movements on local roads.
It is not possible to build a road like this without some adverse effects, but these will be kept to a minimum and we will guard against any damage wherever we can.
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