Busway cycle track flooded

Today (23 November) the cycle track is flooded for about  200 metres  east of the Ouse Viaduct.

The heavy rainfall of the last few days in the Great Ouse's Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire headwaters is likely to reach St Ives over the weekend, so I'd expect the water level to rise even further.

The busway cycle track seems to me to be susceptible not so much to the amount of local rainfall, but to water coming down the river from its huge catchment area after periods of heavy rain. I think the river authority tries to control the flow of water by using the section between St Ives Lock and Brownshill Lock (Earith) to hold water back, probably in order to minimise closure of the main road at Earith Bridge.  I think we need to campaign for having the cyle track through the floodplain raised by another meter or more.

Railings

In an earlier post I mentioned that the railings where the cycleway crosses a floodwater culvert were still not in place. I am happy to report that the railings have now been erected.

Completion of the cycleway

Despite reports in the newspapers that work on the cycleway has been completed, this is not the case. There is still one outstanding job to be done - fitting a railing to the floodwater culvert just east of the Ouse Viaduct. Meanwhile walkers and cyclists are protected by temporary barriers and warning cones.

Fixings are already in place to support the railing.

Progress on the cycleway

Over the past  three weeks or so the main focus has been to construct a series of culverts to allow floodwater to pass under the cycle track and then under the busway a short distance east of the Ouse Viaduct.

9 October

16 October

22 October

30 October