Mumps roundabout to become one lane

Work to move pipes more complex than first thought
MOTORISTS will have to endure more traffic problems at Oldham Mumps to bring Metrolink to the borough.

Traffic-management measures will be reinstated on Monday for around four weeks as work continues to divert pipes.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) had hoped to have all utility work completed at Mumps by mid-August, but excavation has revealed the work is more complex than first thought.

To minimise traffic delays, an extra lane at the roundabout was reopened last Monday for two weeks while contractors and utility companies reassessed the project. But from next Monday traffic will be reduced to one lane for safety reasons.

Philip Purdy, TfGM’s Metrolink director, said: “Work has involved excavation to move water pipes away from the tram alignment. The contractors have found they must excavate deeper than initially anticipated so the pipes can be safely routed and reconnected to the water network.

“I would like to apologise for any inconvenience the temporary traffic lanes closure may cause and assure people we will be working as quickly and as safely as we can to get all lanes open again.”

The water pipe diversion involves routing four substantial water pipes away from the tram route before reconnecting each pipe to the existing system. This is a major exercise: one valve on the water pipes being diverted is the weight of a small family car.

The work means services can be maintained easily once the tram tracks have been laid.



No rise in traffic delays
TRAFFIC congestion in Oldham is NOT increasing, according to the Department for Transport.

Traffic levels have remained fairly static for the last three years.

During morning rush-hour, the average journey time on local A roads in May, 2008, was three minutes a mile — the same as in May this year, the same month we reported traffic chaos and confusing signs in Mumps during roadworks in preparation for Metrolink.

Oldham has one of the lowest levels of congestion within Greater Manchester, with only Bolton and Rochdale fairing better.

The data is based on traffic flow from GPS location reports coming from a fleet of probe vehicles.