Marjon Link Road Picture Special

The Marjon Link Road scheme has been completed and is now in full operation as a two way bus only road linking Derriford Hospital and Marjon College, and joining the link across the old Airport towards The George Park & Ride. Last week I managed to capture a few photos to show the full scheme in use

The new traffic light control junction as the main entrance to Derriford Hospital.

At the moment this is the main entrance to Derriford. This is looking back towards Derriford Roundabout with Derriford to the left and The Marjon link is to the right. As well as providing a safe place to cross this busy road this layout also provides a lane for traffic turning into Derriford which cuts down on delays where traffic cant get out of Derriford as its caught behind the queue of traffic trying to get in!

Buses now turn left onto the Marjon Link

Stagecoach Trident 17297 has come out of Derriford and now turns right, then come up the this junction and takes the left onto the Marjon Link on its way to Tavistock. There is potentially an extra delay here now as buses cant use the bus lane to get out of Derriford, instead they have to take their place with everyone else turning right. I believe eventually the plan is to have two way traffic through the Derriford site for buses at least which will cut these delays.

The new bus stops at Marjon

You cant quite see the new roundabout just beyond the stops which replaces the really awkward right turn buses used to have to make to get onto this stop on the run down to the Hospital

Plymouth Citybus 250 on the 14 on the way down the new road towards Derriford.

The other advantage of this new scheme is the exit from Marjon and across the road onto the Derriford Hospital site. Blue Flash 103 shows the easy access straight across the junction into Derriford

These pics from 2002 show how awkward it used to be with the low floor fleet often grounding as they made the turn right then sharp left into Derriford.

with Citybus Volvo 182 illustrates how the junction was staggered. If no one was coming out of Derriford trying to turn right it wasn't so bad but otherwise it could be really awkward!

Its early days but the scheme does seem to be a big improvement on the old layout.

Derriford Works Photo Special

As a bit of a Part Two of the Derriford Marjon Link Road photos earlier in the week, I managed to catch some fairly good shots of buses coming into Derriford Hospital on Saturday afternoon…

Plymouth Citybus 82 on the 50 swings into the Hospital site

Plymouth Citybus 109 comes in from the other direction on the 42B. Its certainly a lot easier getting in from this side at the moment

Most of the 42's were proper Blue Flash buses as 103 demonstrates

Plymouth Citybus 140 makes an appearance on the 50

Plymouth Citybus veteran Dart 25 on the 14 as it makes the tight turn into Derriford

Its not all Citybus as First 32851 comes in on what I think was a Tavistock bound route

Marjon Link Road Works

Finally managed to get to Derriford and take a few photos of the new Marjon Link Road works which are coming along nicely.

Looking back up from Derriford Hospital the darker tarmac here is the new part of the road. This will be the exit lane eventually.

A closer view of the impressive banking which now has this grass blanker to keep everything in place. This has been a major excavation.

 

A closer look at the new Marjon Link Road which is rapidly taking shape. This will be a new two way bus lane which leads up to join the new bus only route through the old Plymouth Airport.

Looking back along the main road which is now quite a bit wider. The paths just need the final surface and then the road resurfaced.

The new crossroads junction at the entrance of Derriford Hospital. This will be traffic light controlled once its all operational.

The main p[art of the junction still to be completed is the inbound lane. The new traffic island on the left is pretty much where the old exit lane used to be. The wall on the right is part of the new Heliport which has just recently been completed.

Marjon Link: Coming very soon

Following on from yesterdays news from Plymouth City Council we move North to another major transport scheme. This one is much more advanced in that the work itself is about to start.

Work to build a new link road between the University of St Mark and St John (Marjon) and Derriford Hospital will get under way on Monday 8 December. The Marjon Link Road scheme will widen the existing road between Plymbridge Lane and Derriford Road to provide a new two-way link for buses. This will reduce journey times and improve reliability by allowing buses to access the university and hospital without using Derriford Roundabout.
Developed in partnership with the university and Derriford and Nuffield Hospitals, the scheme also includes a shared pedestrian and cycle path and will provide better access to the university campus. Plymouth City Council was awarded over £1 million for the scheme through the Department for Transport’s Local Pinch Point Fund, boosted by an additional £745,000 of developer contributions. The remaining £600,000 of the scheme cost is being funded by the Council.
The new link road will make it easier to access Derriford by bus, help to ease congestion on the main route into Plymouth from the north and, together with the recently built Runway Road, provide some of the strategic transport infrastructure needed to support Derriford’s future growth.
As part of the scheme a dedicated lane will be provided on Derriford Road for traffic turning right into the hospital, which will not only reduce delays for buses serving the hospital but also other traffic wanting to travel straight on at this junction, towards Estover. This should improve journey times for people needing to access the Plymouth Science Park and other business sites.
The layout of this junction will be improved, with better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, including safer crossings. A new roundabout will be installed at the northern end of the link road and new bus stops with shelters will be provided.
Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “The new link road will make a big difference to people living, working and studying in Derriford, as well as those travelling in and out of Plymouth along this busy route.
“It will help to reduce congestion at Derriford Roundabout and improve the reliability of bus services – which should encourage operators to extend more of their services to call in at Derriford Hospital and the University of St Mark and St John.
“It will also provide better and safer facilities for pedestrians and cyclists and form part of the new north-to-south cycle route between Derriford and the city centre.”
Work to build the new link road is being carried out by the Council’s highways contractor Amey and is expected to take around 39 weeks. The existing road will be closed for all users (including buses, cyclists and pedestrians) between Thursday 11 and Friday 19 December and then from Monday 5 January for the duration of the works. Alternative routes, which will be via Derriford Road, will be signposted.

People are advised to allow extra time for any journeys being made in and through the area.

Some sections of footpath near the works will be closed during the works but alternative routes and crossing points will be provided. Vehicle movements in the area will be controlled with traffic lights at times. Plymouth City Council News Room

A few images from 2002 to show how awkward the current road layout can be, buses often grounding on the exit before swinging across to get into the Derriford site:

The line highlighted in blue above is the main point of this post! As anyone who travels, or tries to travel, through this part of Plymouth at peak times will know this area is prone to traffic congestion on an epic scale. Derriford Hospital is the focal point for all of this chaos.  It can only take one minor accident or even an awkwardly placed breakdown anywhere in the North Plymouth area to completely seize up the whole road system. It can be guaranteed that once these roadworks start on the main Derriford Road on this junction then there will be major problems. As well as the road up to Majon, this whole junction is being remodeled. There is no way that can be done easily! Watch this blog for frequent updates on this major project...

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