Cycle path extends just a little bit…

Continuing on from recent post…

Work on the next section of a walking and cycling link connecting Laira Rail Bridge and Plymstock will get under way on Monday 15 January.

The popular route will be extended further east along the railway alignment into Broxton Drive, at the entrance to the Saltram Meadow estate.

Part of the new path will run via Rock Gardens to avoid disturbing an area of environmentally sensitive habitat and a small section will be built on raised decking to protect the rare ‘Horrid Ground Weaver’ spider, found during extensive ecological surveys.

Rock Gardens itself has also recently benefited from resurfacing and street lighting under separate plans.

The walking and cycling link is being fully funded through the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership’s Local Transport Board and Section 106 contributions and is expected to open in March.

Councillor Patrick Nicholson, Cabinet Member for Strategic Transport, Housing and Planning said: “This new link will mean that pedestrians, cyclists, joggers and those using mobility scooters and wheelchairs will be able to enjoy a virtually level, traffic-free journey from the Saltram Meadow development to Laira Rail Bridge and beyond. It will connect with the improvements being made between Laira Rail Bridge and the Barbican, which will also be completed in the spring.”

The plans were approved in December and can be viewed on our planning pages – the reference is 17/01978/FUL.

Future plans will see the route continue further east and connect into a proposed pedestrian and cycle bridge crossing over Billacombe Road, expected to be built this year.

Its nice to see this old line slowly being made useful again, even if it is taking ages. Better slow than never I guess!

Railway over the river

The Laira Bridge

Sorry for the three day break from posting - I just needed a lazy weekend! That combined with the ongoing problems with the computer just put me off doing almost anything productive over the weekend. Will be ordering the new computer this week so hopefully soon will be back up and running properly - everything just takes so long at the moment. Continuing my recent trip along the River Plym at Laira...

Flickr Sunday Best: Laira

"Westerns and a Hymek, Laira 1975 ” Dave Harris’s RailAlbum Highton-Ridley Use your feet Sky Lambs Plymouth Local History Lillie Langtry Omnibuses2.0 End of free travel?

Westerns and a Hymek, Laira 1975 ©Dave Harris I don't often feature trains on the Flickr Sunday Best slot but I just love this shot taken of the scrap line at Laira. As always dont forget to visit Dave Harris’s Rail Album on Flickr for more great photos like this

Memorials to three dead bridges

St Levan Road Viaduct was a magnificent stone viaduct across the St Levan Valley which was demolished just short of its one hundredth birthday. All that remains is a stump - along with this small plaque. There is a picture of the viaduct still in situ here.

Stamps Bridge is another long gone bridge which used to take the Turnchapel Branch Line across Billacombe Road. This is quite a wide stretch so it would have been an impressive bridge, although I have not seen any photos myself.


The final plaque marks the place where the original Laira Road Bridge crossed the Plym. This is right next to the Laira Railway bridge which carries the Turnchapel branch line. The bridge was replaced with a larger road bridge which is just to the left of this plaque. You can get a better view of the new bridge in this photo while you can see the old bridge in all its glory here.

Sunrise at Laira junction

© Reallyreallyrosie via Flickr blog this..

Posted purely because it is such a fantastic shot!

View her wonderful view of Devon and Cornwall photo set here

Plymothian Bridges - Number 4

I was not quite sure whether to count this as 1 bridge or 2. I could have also have counted the older road bridge the end of which is clearly visible, and also a small pedestrian bridge which joins the footpath along the old railway to the road bridge. The road bridge itself also includes two crossings across rail tracks - one still in use, the other closed off and tracks removed. I felt it was probably easier to lump them all in together for now!

There is quite a complex history to the whole area when it comes to the railway tracks here which one day I hope to go into in more detail. A good potted history of the bridges here can be found on the Plymouth Data site here.

I have taken plenty of photos around these bridges many of which are now in another Tabblo here.

13th June: Hovercraft under Laira bridge

This was a real surprise for me today. I have not seen a hovercraft in Plymouth before. It spent about half an hour messing about on the River Plym. It is seen here heading back out to sea having just passed under the old Laira Railway bridge. It is just about to pass under the nwer road bridge to the right of this shot.
In the background behind the hovercraft are the remains of the original road bridge where you can still see the original plaque commemorating its being built.

There is a page on the Plymouthdata web site which gives a bit more detail on the bridge along with a photo of the crossing before the new road bridge was. its well worth a look!


didbygraham

Gdynia Way

This picture shows Laira Bus Depot circa 1980. Just behind the bus depot there is a road which runs across the picture from top right to top left. This is Gdynia Way. It is now part of the main route into Plymouth and forms a bypass of the old Embankment Road route into the City.
It runs along an old railway track which was originally part of the Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway and was linked to the Tramway which has been featured already in this blog.
The area in this picture has changed a lot since this picture was taken. The bus depot has now gone and is left as a large wasteland - a new retail park is planned. The bottom left there is now a new road running into Cattedown and a new footpath follows the path of the railway track which runs along the river bottom right. The large warehouse buildings opposite the bus depot have been replaced by typical bland retail units.
The reason I was thinking of this area today is because Gdynia Way was partially closed for road works so that all traffic was diverted up through the old Embankment Road route. This had two lanes of traffic being merged into one lane and then being squeezed through the traffic lights which have always been set to give priority to the traffic coming up through Laira Bridge. A bus ride into the City Centre which normally takes 30 minutes took nearly two hours! Dont know who was responsible for the roadworks or the traffic management - but they should be sacked!
This photo is not one of mine but comes from Stephen Johnsons site where many other fascinating aerial photos from this period can be viewed - its well worth alook!



didbygraham