Drivers planning to use the M5 today have been spared from major disruptions after authorities agreed to postpone the transport of abnormal loads through Gloucestershire.
A multi-agency meeting on Thursday decided that the movement of heavy cargo originally scheduled for today and subsequent days should be pushed back until after the Easter holiday period.
The rescheduled operation will now take place overnight from Tuesday, April 7, when an enormous electrical transformer and associated equipment will make the journey from Sharpness Docks to Brockworth.
Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed the change of plans, which affects movements that had been due to cause significant traffic holdups and subsequent 12mph speed limits across several days, including the Easter weekend.
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The transformer being transported weighs in excess of 600 tonnes, making it one of the most challenging loads to move through the county's road network.
Accompanying the main unit are various ancillary components, all requiring careful coordination between police escorts and highway personnel.
Due to the exceptional weight involved, escort vehicles will be restricted to just 12mph throughout the journey, as well as road furniture needing to be temporarily removed along sections of the route to allow the vehicles to pass.
Highways staff will work alongside escorting officers to clear obstacles as the convoy makes its way from the docks to its final destination.
Under the revised plans, the transport of the 600-tonne device will take place from April 7
|PA
The weight and dimensions of the electrical equipment mean that standard road infrastructure cannot accommodate the load without modifications, necessitating the complex multi-day operation originally planned.
Despite the postponement of the larger cargo, motorists have been warned they should still anticipate some disruption over the coming days.
Police explained they will continue to escort smaller loads through the area on both Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29.
However, these weekend movements are expected to cause less inconvenience than the original plans would have done.
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The transportation of the load will see traffic operate as slow as 12mph
| GETTYUnlike the massive transformer convoy, which would have crawled along at a restricted pace, these lighter shipments will travel at considerably faster speeds.
The quicker movement times should help minimise the impact on drivers using the affected routes during the Easter weekend.
Gloucestershire Constabulary has confirmed that officers will still be deployed to manage traffic flow during these smaller escort operations, though delays are anticipated to be far less severe than initially feared.
When the rescheduled movements do take place in April, the convoy will depart from Sharpness and travel via the B4066, A38 and B4509 before reaching the M5 at junction 14 near Falfield.
The planned closures and delays have now been postponed to after the Easter period
| PAA contraflow arrangement will be implemented, with vehicles entering the motorway via the northbound exit slip road rather than the standard entry point.
Traffic will be stopped entirely while the loads join and leave both the M5 and the A417.
Officers have also urged motorists to steer clear of the affected roads during the relevant times if at all possible, warning that significant congestion is anticipated.
The M5 northbound carriageway and the A417 are expected to experience the worst of the delays once the April movements commence.
With the convoy travelling at such slow speeds and requiring traffic to be halted at multiple points, journey times through the area could be substantially extended.