Busway construction issues - it's back to court again!

Longer-term readers of this blog will be aware that the original construction of the Busway raised a number of issues regarding costs and alleged construction defects. Back in August 2013, the County Council and contractors BAM Nuttall settled a case out of court. There's more information about this in a couple of our 2013 posts - those of 30 August and 8 September.

Then in December 2016, New Civil Engineer reported that the County Council was suing BAM Nuttall for a £31 million for repair of defects - see the 15 December post. I haven't been able to trace what happened to that claim.

Fast forward to 2020... and the Cambridge Independent reports that the County Council is again pursuing a case against BAM Nuttall. And again over the cost of repairing what the Council alleges are defects. The Cambridge Independent report can be found here.

Now, given the speed at which civil court cases proceed it's possible that this latest one is simply a development from the 2016 claim. Or it might be entirely different.

BAM Nuttall is defending the claim.

Another long-term Busway B diversion - yes, seriously!

Busway B passengers have had to put up with more than their fair share of diversions, stop changes and the like over the past year or more. Well, guess what - there's another long-term diversion due to come into operation on Monday 29 June.

This one is in connection with Phases B & D of the Greater Cambridge Partnership's Histon Road project, which covers the whole road between Kings Hedges Road and Victoria Road.

So... from Monday 29 June, Histon Road will be completely closed inbound. The B service will effectively follow the A route between Histon and Cambridge New Square, omitting Orchard Park,Shire Hall and Round Church St (currently closed anyway, but due to reopen in early July). Passengers who would normally alight at Shire Hall will find themselves with a significant problem, as there's no diversionary route available - you simply have to carry on into the City Centre and then catch an outbound service.

How long will this diversion last? Well, the GCP's announcement was noticeably vague on this - saying nothing more specific than that the closure would last "for the duration of the construction". Stagecoach say it will be for "several months". The GCP's project page, though, is more helpful - Phase B will last until spring 2021, and Phase D until summer 2021.

For more information go to:

• Stagecoach announcement and revised route map
• GCP's Histon Road Construction web page

Changes from 14/15 June

Important changes from 14/15 June.

1, Stagecoach timetable changes (from 14 June)
The R remains suspended. There are more frequent services on routes A, B & D. Click here for more information, and here for the new timetables.

2. Concessionary pass holders (from 15 June)
The County Council is removing the temporary exception that allowed concessionary pass holders to travel before 0930 Mon-Fri. If you need to use the bus to access one of the early morning supermarket slots reserved for the elderly you'll have to pay to use the bus to get there (and possibly back).

3. Face coverings (from 15 June)
Face coverings will be compulsory on all public transport from 15 June.

There is reduced capacity on buses as a result of physical distancing requirements.

Round Church Street closure, 8 June-6 July

The inbound Busway "B" service will be diverted between 8 June and 6 July because Round Church Street is closed during that period. The Round Church Street stop will not be served (obviously!). Outbound journeys are not affected.