Current bridge repairs on A41 at Apex Corner, Mill Hill
Request ID: FOI-1045-2223 Date published: 16 September 2022
You asked
1. Who (or which committee) gave final approval to the traffic management provisions on the A 1 Barnet By pass southbound leading into Apex Corner in relation to the Current Bridge Repairs on the A41
2. Who or which committee gave final approval for permitting the Current Bridge Repairs at the same time as Hendon Wood Lane, London NW? was closed.
3. Please supply all liaison between TFL and Barnet Council in relation to the effect that the concurrent Current Bridge Repairs and the closure of Hendon Wood Lane would have on traffic management on the A 1 south on the Barnet by Pass from Sterling Corner to and through Apex Corner.
We answered
TfL Ref: 1045-2223
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 28 July 2022 asking for information about current bridge repairs on A41 at Apex Corner, Mill Hill.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked:
1. Who (or which committee) gave final approval to the traffic management provisions on the A1 Barnet By pass southbound leading into Apex Corner in relation to the Current Bridge Repairs on the A41: TfL work with our specialist internal departments prior to going out to consultation with key stakeholders. Once this is complete Permits to work are applied for (i.e. approval to carry out Streetworks) from an independent team who enforce compliance with the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and the Traffic Management Act 2004). Only once agreements have been reached with all key stakeholders, including London Boroughs, will the Permit be Granted for any works.
2. Who or which committee gave final approval for permitting the Current Bridge Repairs at the same time as Hendon Wood Lane, London NW? was closed. The closure of Hendon Wood Lane was carried out by Cadent Gas and the closure was within the LB Barnet network (not TLRN). The southbound diversion for Hendon Wood Lane originally proposed to use the A1 Barnet Way but retracted and the final layout turned left onto A5109 March Lane and hence did not impede on Apex Corner. The A41 Edgware Way works were safety critical and as a result could not be delayed until after Hendon Wood Lane. As a result, TfL and LB Barnet worked closely to implement strategic mitigations in order minimise disruption to customers.
3. Please supply all liaison between TFL and Barnet Council in relation to the effect that the concurrent Current Bridge Repairs and the closure of Hendon Wood Lane would have on traffic management on the A 1 south on the Barnet by Pass from Sterling Corner to and through Apex Corner. As you will see from the answer to question 2 above; TfL did liaise with LB Barnet to implement strategic mitigations in the area in order to minimise disruption to customers. However the process of locating, extracting and collating the information would constitute a significant burden on our limited resources. Therefore we are refusing this element of your request in accordance with Regulation 12(4)(b). The information you requested is not held in any easily reportable format and would therefore require a manual review of a large number of emails which would need to be checked to determine whether they fit within the scope of your request and then extracted and collated accordingly. Such a process would constitute a significant diversion of limited specialist resources and further time would be taken up in considering and applying redactions to information where necessary as, by their very nature, emails will often include personal data which is exempt from disclosure.
This exception is subject to the public interest and we are of course mindful of the inherent public interest in transparency, particularly around matters which directly affect members of the public. To that end, we have provided as much information as we reasonably can in this instance which we trust will be of value to you. However in this instance we consider that the balance of public interest falls in favour of protecting our limited and specialist resource to ensure we continue to make the best possible use of this resource.
You may wish to contact the London Borough of Barnet for further information on their works.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Sara Thomas FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
