Stoke to press ahead with £41m road improvement scheme

STOKE-ON-TRENT City Council is set to press ahead with a £41m project to ease traffic congestion by opening up new routes to the city centre through Etruria Valley.

The Etruria Valley Link Road scheme is part of the city council’s economic strategy of investment in the city centre and reinforces government support for the authority’s commitment to deliver the Smithfield central business district.

The project is aimed at significantly improving connectivity between the city centre and the main northern approach along the A500, as well as providing easier access for workers in the Middleport area to the Etruria Valley site and opening up potential sites for the city’s proposed HS2 station.

The scheme was a key component of the government’s £82m Growth Deal for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire announced at the beginning of July, which included an offer of grant funding to support the city’s ongoing economic expansion by tackling traffic congestion problems on the A500 and A53 Etruria Road gateways.

The project will involve four phases of construction:

•    New roads and canal bridges through the Etruria Valley improving access to the city centre, Shelton, Middleport and Festival Park (£10m).
•    A new bridge over the West Coast Main Line from the Wolstanton junction of the A500, as well as work to cut the flooding risk to existing homes, businesses and key development sites (£14m).
•    Improvements to existing roundabouts on the A500 at Wolstanton (£9m).
•    Widening the A500 to three lanes each way between Porthill and Wolstanton to improve traffic flow through and into the city (£8m – under the control of the Highways Agency).

The council will undertake design work on detailed plans for the initial phase of the scheme and bid for additional government funding.

Cllr Ruth Rosenau, the city council’s cabinet member for regeneration, planning and transportation, said: “This is a huge boost to the city’s economic prospects and confirms that the government fully supports our strategy of investing in the city centre. Ministers clearly understand and agree that building up and improving connectivity to the city centre is the right approach.

“These vital strategic infrastructure improvements will also open up the Etruria Valley site for further development, accelerating Stoke-on-Trent’s economic regeneration by transforming the city’s urban core, opening up access to potential sites for our proposed HS2 station and simultaneously unlocking hundreds of new jobs and homes.

“This new strategic corridor will transform Stoke-on-Trent’s connectivity and act as an important catalyst for economic growth. This is an important double win for our city which underscores our commitment to making Stoke-on-Trent the place to bring business.”