Great Western Coffee Shop

It is almost a year since work commenced on the South Devon Link Road and the area which shows the most change to date with huge mounds of earth and cuttings is the area around Aller Junction. Gone is the viewing point where the Main line to Plymouth and Cornwall and the Torquay branch diverged blocked by large concrete walls. It is also possible to see where the tunnel which will take the road over the Torquay branch will be situated. In addition three culverts will be installed directly under the 4 tracks from Newton Abbot over the Christmas period as part of the flood prevention scheme. Let us hope the engineers have got their calculations correct as it would be a nightmare if the line ever became flooded a la Cowley bridge. In addition another favourite viewing spot will disappear forever, the existing twin arch bridge over the four tracks between Newton Abbot and Aller Junction will be demolished and removed on Christmas Day. I understand that buses will replace trains on the Torquay branch on 27 and 28 |December

Each time I go to Torbay it is so strange seeing how the valley keeps changing.

Sad really!

Had plenty of time to admire it sat in traffic though... :D

Yet more countryside bulldozed for a road that will just shift the traffic jam somewhere else.
Not doubt the real reason for this road is to allow greedy developers to buy up the land on either side as it is "no longer open countryside" so might as well be built on.

Why not build a parkway station to reduce the traffic clogging Torquay?

I wonder if the current weather will impact on the work. 

Have you actually experienced the congestion between Newton Abbot and Torbay? It's pretty horrendous. Most the time I go past on the train the traffic is queuing alongside the railway at Aller Junction.

Yes I have. But how will this road help, except move the jam closer to Torquay (and encourage more road traffic).

A bypass is fair enough. But when traffic is trying to get into a place it doesn't really help and the answer is to reduce traffic.

At the moment all the traffic for Paignton (and beyond) and Torquay ends up at the same roundabout. The new Edginswell Junction, if properly designed, should split the traffic much more effectively.

Note also that the rail service to Paignton has just been significantly improved (overshadowed somewhat on this forum by improvements elsewhere in FGWland), so DCC are recognising that road building is not the only solution to improving access to the area.

Many thanks for that reminder, John R: the improved rail service to Paignton was indeed discussed on the Coffee Shop forum, at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=478.msg142724#msg142724

The main reason for congestion on the Newton Rd is a set of traffic lights in Kingskerswell. The bypass will eliminate this set of lights thereby reducing the traffic. Not to mention the flyover at Penn Inn again taking a set of traffic lights out of the equation.

Just at a slight tangent.. am I right in thinking that in railway terms Aller Junction no longer exists as the crossover between the branch and the main line was moved nearer Newton Abbot station and are now known as the less evocative Newton Abbot West?

I remember the old signal box at Aller Junction which must have lasted into the 80s.

Probably May 1987, Bob - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_Abbot_railway_station#Recent_history  ;)

I believe the area of the old Aller junction is now known as Aller divergence.

Thanks for posting here, everyone!  :D

However, there are a few posts which might sit rather more comfortably in the 'Kingskerswell bypass' topic (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=1310.msg145218#msg145218), as they relate specifically to the road rather than the railway.

Would anyone mind if I did a bit of judicious splitting - or should both topics be merged here, in view of their intermingling?

CfN  :-\

Intermingle away!!