In the last few months we have completed sewer and other utility diversion works, installed new fencing and almost finished building the new River Leen bridge.

This work has been successful and has been completed on schedule. We thank you for your patience and good humour during this time and apologise if the work has caused you any inconvenience.

We will soon start the next phase of work in your area and this leaflet has been put together to describe the work we need to do next and how this may affect you.

We expect the next stage of work to start on the 11th March and last for about 19 weeks. We will be reducing the height of the embankment and increasing the depth of the cutting. In most places the finished level of the track will be lower than the current ground level. Track laying will start from mid June and last for about 6 weeks. The overhead electrical lines will then be put up and tram stops built before testing of the new system begins in the Autumn.

The overhead wires will become live in September and the first test tram will arrive on the new track as early as November 2002.

Work at Phoenix Park will start in June. The new Park and Ride car park will be extended and resurfaced. Lighting and CCTV security cameras will be installed and the new tram terminus will be built. There are also two level crossings to construct and overhead poles and wires to erect. The site will have 675 spaces including dedicated spaces for blue/orange badge holders as well as cycle parking facilities.

The first of the next stages of work involves the excavation and removal of earth by medium-sized dumper trucks to a number of sites along the line. These will be in the fields surrounding the Highbury Vale tram stop, near the Park and Ride site at Phoenix Park and along the route as far as Deptford Crescent. As well as excavating earth, the equipment will also be used to install drainage and underground communication ducts. A vibrating roller will be on site to compact the earth fill.

Between the Cinderhill Road and Bagnall Road bridges we will need to construct retaining walls around the site of the Cinderhill tram stop. We will let you know nearer the time what specific work will be required.

The excavators, dumpers and roller will be delivered by low loader to Bagnall Road. We will tell local residents and will make sure that all movements of these low-loaders are supervised by a workman on the ground (known as a 'banksman').

After this work has been completed, the whole line will be covered in stone ballast. Approximately 5000 tonnes of ballast will be needed, which will be delivered by lorry. We anticipate around 300 loads will be required and they will need to access the site from both Bagnall Road and Millennium Way.

We will tell you in advance of these loads arriving and will make sure that all deliveries are supervised by a banksman. The ballast will then be spread and compacted using a heavy roller. This work is likely to take about 10 days.

Gravel will also be delivered to form a filter drain between the topsoil and ballast at the edges of the track. Walkways will be laid out - these will not be for public use, but will be used for maintenance to the tram route when it is operational. Ducting for signalling and communications cables will also be finished.

To the east of Bagnall Road there is a 60 metre stretch of sandstone that needs to be excavated from both sides of the track and taken away. This work will take up to 2 weeks and will be carried out by a pneumatic breaker. Unfortunately this work will be noisy as we will be removing solid rock. We will contact residents before this work starts and we will do our best to reduce noise with quieter equipment where possible and will only work during daytime hours.

Foundations for the poles to hold the overhead electrical lines will be piled - one for each pole. This work will take about a month and is likely to cause local noise. We will contact those residents affected before each section of this work starts.

Other work includes finishing the River Leen bridge, constructing the Highbury Vale electricity sub-station and finishing the stops at Highbury Vale, Cinderhill and Phoenix Park.

We will also need to raise the sides of the bridges at Cinderhill Road, Bagnall Road and Lauriston Drive footbridge for safety reasons relating to the overhead cables. This work is unlikely to cause major disruption and is expected to take about a month to complete at each bridge.

Once testing is complete, work will start on landscaping and providing pedestrian walkways around the stops and near the tram route.

Track laying is expected to start in mid-June. From the River Leen Bridge to the Bagnall Road Bridge the track will consist of continuously welded rail fitted to concrete sleepers with clips. Once this is complete, a special machine called a 'tamper' will move the ballast around the track to keep the track in place and to reduce noise and vibration once trams are running. From Bagnall Road Bridge to Millennium Way and through the Cinderhill tram-stop the sleepers and rails will be laid in concrete, before changing to ballast and sleepers once more to Phoenix Park. We will contact those affected by the work nearer the time to explain them in more detail.