24 Sep 2015, 4:33 pm
#1816
(24 Sep 2015, 3:52 pm)Michael Bloody hell, that's a long route, if its true of course.... where was this post, if you don't mind Tom? 
Probably not as long as it seems, depending on the route it takes.
If it goes direct via the A693 to Pelton Roundabout, it will take approximately the same amount of time as it takes to Sunniside. Traffic is usually queued on the A6076 due to the traffic lights at Sunniside, so this may avoid some of the congestion there.
Going through Ouston is pretty direct until the roundabout at the bottom of the hill is reached. It'll be interesting to see which route it takes from there. Usually, buses turn right towards Birtley, however, if the bus continues ahead it'll end up intersecting the road between Birtley and Kibby. There are a couple of tight corners on the road and it does narrow in parts but I imagine a smaller bus would be able to manage without any major problems. There won't be much traffic going up the bank to Kibby, or back down to Lamesley Roundabout, but it may encounter a tailback between Lamesley and the Coal House Roundabout. Going through Team Valley should be relatively congestion free as traffic is flowing in the opposite direction.
At peak times, journey time will probably be slightly longer but, bearing in mind what I said about Sunniside as well as the build-up of traffic around Lobley Hill (which often causes tailbacks to Watergate Bank), it won't be by much.
