After a long wait, (since 1980 it would appear) a start has been made on the
pedestrian and cyclist bridge over the Baddesley Road rail crossing. Anyone
going out of Chandlers Ford in that direction will have noticed the traffic
light controlled one way working on the bridge and may have seen the piles
driven in to the left of the road. Following a stroll over to Valley Park
I thought it would be interesting to see exactly what the plans had in store
and after a trawl of the Internet I found some interesting answers.
The
3m wide steel construction bridge will be craned into position in one go overnight
and at the weekend of 1st/2nd August to minimise disruption to both motorists
and the rail service. The whole period of the work is planned to take 18 weeks
for completion. 
On the Valley Park side access to the bridge will be via the reinstated cycle path running parallel with the railway line and also along a section of cycle path on the valley park side of the Flexford Road. Cyclists crossing the bridge will then be provided with a further stretch of path leading as far as the bus shelter where a pedestrian refuge in the centre of the road will be provided to aid crossing the road to the footpath on the other side.
The plan in progress does not include an extension on to the junction of North Millers Dale that would have been an ideal situation for NMD residents wishing to cycle to Valley Park. There are plans to reassess this extension to the Hursley Road junction at a later date as funding permits. So in the meantime it will still be necessary to perform two road crossings to get to Valley Park although the return crossing will be nothing like as dangerous as it was in the past.
Within the plan there is included the provision of new street lights from Millers Dale to Valley Park which will be a welcome addition to this dark stretch of road
As a runner I am pleased to see that steps are to be provided from the Nature Reserve up onto the bridge, this would mean the road could be completely avoided when running to Valley Park. The running routes around Valley Park and beyond have always been a pleasure but the access via the bridge has been the source of the odd heart stopping moment when crossing from the narrow path on the bridge over to the Valley Park entrance.
I have included a plan to give a better idea of the scope of the development. From it can be seen the reason for the pile driving as the new path extends out over the Nature Reserve and a new embankment has had to be created. Plans are in place to reinstate the vegetation with trees, shrubs and grass seeding.
The timing of the work was planned to avoid the bird-nesting season. Liaison work with the leaseholders of the Nature Reserve, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, took place to minimise the environmental impact. An old oak tree on the Valley Park side has had to be removed for the work to progress and also because it’s roots were undermining the bridge. It is planned to plant new oak trees to replace it.
Once the new bridge is in position it will not be available for use until the remaining highway works are completed, and so the current temporary traffic management arrangements will remain in place until then. This is expected to continue until early/mid September, with landscaping work to the new highway embankments following in October
