Take a virtual drive down new bypass

Why not drive the £90million Church Village Bypass from the comfort of your own home?

Because this week a virtual drive through of the highway has been made available online by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s contractor Costain Ltd in an effort to raise awareness with the general public of the benefits the bypass with bring.

The computer programme allows viewers an excellent visual presentation of what it will look like to drive eastbound along the new Bypass from Cross Inn to Tonteg once the road is opened in Autumn 2010.

There is also a virtual fly-through online that not only shows the Bypass but also includes sections of the Community Route which is being opened alongside the road as a new facility for pedestrians and cyclists.

The virtual presentation has been prepared by Atkins, the designers of the bypass and one of Costains’ strategic partners.

The Church Village Bypass is approximately 7.5km long and is a single carriageway 7.3m wide with four strategically placed roundabouts for links to the local network.

The Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Customer Care Cllr Andrew Morgan explained: "The virtual drive-through is a first class programme which gives viewers a real feel of what it will be like to drive the completed Church Village Bypass when it opens later next year.

"The project remains well on course and only recently the first section of the Bypass at Gwern y moel was opened to traffic. As the year progresses many more developments will become visible to residents and visitors alike.

"The Church Village Bypass will bring so many benefits to the residents of Llantwit Fardre, Church Village and Tonteg in reducing the increasing traffic along the A473 by about 70 per cent and is also seen as strategically important to the economic development of the whole of the county borough."

Barry Woodman, the Project Manager for Costain, said: "These virtual views are a new development for us and something that we have not made available to the public before. They give realistic view of what the completed project will look like, even down to the road signs and lighting.

"It has always been Costains’ policy to keep the public fully aware of the progress we are making and this is another exciting addition to what we have available on our website and at the Visitor Centre at Cross Inn."

The drive-through facility can be found on churchvillagebypass.com, which recently welcomed its 20,000th visitor, provides background information, traffic management, progress reports, works programme and essential key contacts.

Members of the public can also view the virtual journey if they visit the Church Village Bypass Visitor Centre in Cross Inn which is open every Wednesday from 1pm to 6pm.