TRAFFIC restrictions at the Hambrook junction of the Avon Ring Road and Bristol Road have been removed by South Gloucestershire Council.
The council announced the junction would fully reopen on April 8, after being given clearance by the government, and removed concrete blocks that stopped drivers from making banned turns in time for the morning rush hour on April 27.
A ban on drivers on the westbound A4174 turning right towards Winterbourne, and traffic heading north from Frenchay going straight across or right at the junction, was introduced in August 2019.
The then government told the council it had to make changes to cut toxic nitrogen dioxide pollution to within legal levels.
All Winterbourne-bound traffic had to use the roundabout at the M32 junction access the B4058 from the eastbound A4174.
The council was told it could not reverse the changes until the Joint Air Quality Unit – part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – could confirm that the site had met national air quality standards for two years running.
In the spring the council received a letter from DEFRA confirming monitored air quality in both 2023 and 2024 met national standards.
The improvement is believed to be partly because of an increase in the number of electric cars on the roads and in engine efficiency for other vehicles.
The council has also reinstated the bus lane on the westbound ring road on either side of the traffic lights – so other traffic passing through is restricted to two lanes instead of three, as it was before the restrictions were introduced.
‘We’ve worked hard behind the scenes’
Council cabinet member for communities Sean Rhodes said: “We know how significant this junction is for road users, residents and local communities, and we have listened carefully to the concerns raised about the measures.
“I recognise they have caused inconvenience and we have worked hard behind the scenes to secure clear direction from the government on this matter.
“We have to be confident that any return to previous routes through the junction will not result in a return to unacceptable air quality.
“But because air quality at the junction has improved markedly in the past couple of years, we can be confident that this will not happen.”
The removal of the restrictions has been welcomed across political lines, with Liberal Democrat Frenchay & Downend ward councillor Raj Sood, and Conservative ward councillor and group leader Liz Brennan both welcoming the change.
Labour Filton & Bradley Stoke MP Claire Hazelgrove, whose constituency includes the junction, said: “It has been a challenging time for local residents, particularly those who live close to the junction and others who used it every day.”