Residents, businesses and drivers will be able to question the contractors responsible for rebuilding Ollerton roundabout at a public event later this month, Nottinghamshire County Council has announced. The drop-in session runs from 6pm to 9pm on Thursday 29 October at Ollerton Jubilee Hall, Wellow Road, NG22 9AP.
Representatives from Galliford Try, which will carry out the work for the county council and its highways company Via East Midlands, will be there to explain the construction programme and the timing of its different phases. For people who live and work around the junction, that is the most pressing question. The council has not yet published a start date for the main works at Ollerton.
What is known suggests a long job. Programme details released last year put the Ollerton works at 23 months, compared with 16 months at Lowdham and 12 at Kirk Hill. The council’s target is to finish the Ollerton roundabout by the end of 2028, and it has warned road users to expect significant disruption during construction across the scheme.
The roundabout, where the A614 meets the A616 and the A6075 on the edge of Ollerton, is one of the busiest junctions in the Sherwood area and a long-standing bottleneck. The plan is to make it larger and widen the approaches and exits to ease congestion. Earlier design material describes an enlarged conventional roundabout with five arms rather than the current six, two lanes of circulating traffic and lower speed limits on the approaches. New pedestrian crossings are to be installed on Old Rufford Road and Mansfield Road, alongside upgraded lighting, signs and road markings.
Ollerton is one of five junctions in the wider A614/A6097 Major Road Network scheme, together with White Post roundabout, Warren Hill, Lowdham roundabout and Kirk Hill at East Bridgford. The corridor carries traffic between north Nottinghamshire and the A46 and A52 south of the county, including a significant volume of heavy goods vehicles.
The scheme has had a long gestation. Public consultation on the Ollerton design took place in the summer of 2019. Costs rose as it developed, and one element, at Deerdale Lane, was dropped because of the difficulty of removing a hidden dip on the A614 and the expense of diverting utilities. More than £43 million is now committed, made up of a capped £24.3 million from the Department for Transport, £8.3 million from the county council, £1.7 million from developers and the balance from the East Midlands Combined County Authority.
Work is already under way at the southern end. Main construction began at Kirk Hill on 24 August, scheduled to last 12 months, and works are also in progress at Lowdham roundabout. Archaeological investigations were carried out at Ollerton, Lowdham and Kirk Hill earlier this year ahead of the main works.
Councillor Bert Bingham, the county council’s cabinet member for transport and environment, acknowledged the length of the wait. “We know that residents and motorists have been waiting for these improvements for some time,” he said, urging residents, businesses and drivers to attend. He said questions raised at the event would be published online as part of the council’s frequently asked questions on the Ollerton roundabout.
The council has said it will monitor the effect on local traffic during construction, and has encouraged people to sign up to its A614 email bulletin for updates. Traffic management arrangements for Ollerton, including any lane closures, diversions or overnight working, are expected to be among the main topics on 29 October.
The event is a drop-in, so no booking is required.