Road improvement schemes benefit from £49m pay-out

FOUR key road improvement schemes in the West Midlands have received Government funding as part of a £49m pay out from the Department for Transport.

The allocation is part of the Local Pinch Point Fund and three of the four schemes will help to improve access to vital economic development schemes.

In Birmingham, the DfT has awarded £1m to the highways access scheme related to the Aston Advanced Manufacturing Hub, part of Birmingham’s six-strong Economic Zones project.

The £2,35m scheme proposes upgrades to the A38M Expressway to improve access to the hub site. The scheme will start in August next year for completion in March 2015.

Coventry City Council has received £1,725,000 towards the £5,222,000 cost of the University of Warwick and Westwood Business Park Congestion relief scheme. This proposes highway improvements to the south of the city to relieve local congestion and improve access to the university and business park. Work will start next month with a view to completion in the following January.

£1m is also being pumped into the £1,455,000 Rugby gyratory project being undertaken by Warwickshire County Council. It involves improvements to the Warwick Street gyratory, including new traffic signals on the three main approaches to the town, provision of two additional lanes and new shared cycleways and footpaths. Work will start next June for completion in October.

Also, £1,004,000 is going to Wolverhampton City Council for the Stafford Road improvement scheme. This includes upgrading traffic signals to improve access to the key i54 business park home of amongst others, Jaguar Land Rover’s new £0.5bn engine plant.

The £1.45m scheme also includes enhanced CCTV and upgraded shelters to improve bus passenger safety and a refurbished park and ride facility. Work starts in January and will finish in February.

The Government said dozens of towns and cities would benefit from the funding, helping to tackle congested roads and improve key points in the strategic road network.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “These projects will benefit communities up and down the country and help keep Britain moving. By investing in our local and regional transport infrastructure we can help support new jobs and boost our overall competitiveness in the global economic race.”