Fifteen months of roadworks through a Bristol city centre key route are due to start next month. The works on Victoria Street include installing a two-way segregated cycleway linking up with Bristol Bridge and Temple Gate.
The road and pavements along the street will be resurfaced and there are also plans to improve and enlarge three bus stops and add living roofs to two of them. Work will also include installing a new electric vehicle charging area for taxis and upgrading Victoria Street’s junction with Counterslip.
It is part of Bristol City Council’s A37/A4018 transport corridor project to improve the number 2 bus route, which is a 15-mile route from Stockwood to Henbury. Work will start on Tuesday, January 14 next year.
It will be carried out in phases and is expected to take around 15 months to complete. Victoria Street will remain open for most of this time, although temporary traffic signals will be in use and the council has warned some delays are likely.
Side streets leading onto Victoria Street may also need to close at points throughout the works. Road resurfacing will take place overnight towards the end of the project in early 2026.
Councillor Ed Plowden, chair of the transport and connectivity committee, said: “It’s great that more of the number 2 bus route works are set to get underway, following on from the new road layout at Bristol Bridge.
“Once complete, the changes will make better connections and access to the centre from Temple Meads, with new cycleways and public realm works. This will make it easier, safer and more pleasant for pedestrians and cyclists to travel along Victoria Street.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their patience while we get started on the next part of our number 2 bus route works. Following the ambitious closure of Bristol Bridge to general through-traffic, levels of traffic have dramatically reduced on Victoria Street and we are able to reallocate more road space to more sustainable forms of travel.”
The Victoria Street work, estimated to cost £5 million, is being funded by the UK Government as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, which is administered by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.