Four nights of A30 Penzance Bypass closures, and a long way round

If you drive the A30 around Penzance after dark, next week is the one to plan for. Four nights, four stretches of road, and a signed diversion that heads a fair way out of town before it brings you back.

Overnight road closures will be in place on the Penzance Bypass from next Monday (5 October) to Thursday 8 October, as part of Cornwall Council’s planned programme of highway maintenance, delivered by Cormac.

Which section closes on which night

The closures move along the bypass over the four nights:

• Monday 5 October and Tuesday 6 October: Branwell Lane roundabout to Treneere roundabout
• Wednesday 7 October: Treneere roundabout to Heamoor roundabout
• Thursday 8 October: Heamoor roundabout to Mount Misery roundabout

All the work will be done overnight between 7pm and 6am, which the council says is to keep disruption to local communities and road users to a minimum.

What the crews will be doing

Teams will carry out a range of routine maintenance while the road is shut. That includes minor carriageway repairs, gully emptying, and verge and hedge cutting.

The council says the work is about keeping Cornwall’s highways network at a safe and serviceable standard.

The diversion, and who can still get through

Through traffic will need to follow the signed diversion routes. Signs will go up at major junctions ahead of the closures to steer non-through traffic away.

The diversion map in the council’s notice (at the bottom of this article) shows the signed route looping out through Newbridge, Morvah, Zennor and Halsetown before coming back down via Nancledra and Gulval. The council acknowledges diversion routes “can sometimes be quite lengthy”, but says they have to be suitable for the type of traffic that would normally use the road.

Bus services will be allowed through the works area, driving slowly to keep the site safe for the teams. Emergency access will be maintained at all times.

Members of the public are asked not to enter the working areas, which are restricted to authorised personnel only.

Plans can change

The council says the information is correct at the time of circulation but could change, especially in a spell of poor weather.

Up-to-date details of roadworks, closures and diversions across the network are on one.network. You can also see what is planned in your area on Cormac’s local programme pages by choosing your Community Area Partnership under ‘More detail for local areas’ and clicking ‘Highways Work Programme’.

Enquiries can be sent to [email protected]. Problems with a road, highway or footway can be reported on the Cornwall Council website, and anything that is a threat to public safety should be phoned through to the 24-hour line on 0300 1234 222, giving details of the location.

📷Map showing the A30 Penzance Bypass closure (red) and diversion route (blue). Credit: Cornwall Council