The major roadworks at the Bow Roundabout continue, which is worrying because the final resurfacing works are due to begin on Monday night. Instead the inside lane on Stratford High Street is still coned off for much drilling and scraping, so they'd better get a move-on.
In better news buses on route 8 have just returned to Bow Church, literally in the last two hours. This is after six months terminating early, which should have been five months given the roadworks started late, and should have been extended by one more week given the roadworks are finishing late too.
Also I found the road closure notice for next week's resurfacing works at the back of the local paper and it's quite complicated. It takes seven paragraphs to explain that the entire roundabout and all its slip roads will be closed, then four more to explain that access to McDonalds will be maintained by marshals waving traffic the wrong way along the bottom of Bow Road.
The Works Notice also details the precise routes of five detours traffic will need to make when the roundabout's closed, the scariest of which is accessing Stratford High Street from the A12 southbound which will involve a 5 mile mystery tour via Poplar, Canning Town and Plaistow.
Reassuringly 'works will be phased such that some restrictions will only apply at certain times', so traffic may get off lightly on certain nights. Less reassuringly 'the Order will be effective between 24th February 2025 and 24th August 2025 every night 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM, or until works are completed, whichever is sooner', which is a six month period rather than the actually-planned four nights. I guess TfL's legal team prefers to over-estimate so they only ever have to place one Works Order in the paper, but that is a serious over-over-over-estimate.
Whatever, don't drive or catch a bus anywhere near the Bow roundabout next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday night, and fingers crossed all the resurfacing and line painting will be finished by 1st March, not 24th August.
