£33m relief road officially opened

A £33m relief road, which boasts the longest single span bridge and first new river crossing inWakefield for more than 100 years, has opened.

The Wakefield Eastern Relief Road (WERR) is 5.5km long and provides a road link between the A642 and A638, and aims to help reduce congestion and pollution.

It is also expected to bring with it major economic benefits by unlocking the potential to develop 2,500 new homes as part of the City Fields development.

Credit: Wakefield Council

Cllr Peter Box, leader of Wakefield Council, said: “I am delighted to open the Wakefield Eastern Relief Road. It is one of the biggest and most ambitious projects that this district has seen for decades and is a huge achievement for Wakefield.

“The new road will help reduce traffic congestion in and around the city, improve local transport links and provide access to land for future development, helping to create thousands of new jobs and supporting economic growth in our district for many years to come.

“Thank you to everyone for their patience as the work has been carried out.”

Cllr Eric Firth, West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Deputy Transport chair said: “Delivering improved strategic transport links that generate economic growth across west Yorkshire and the City Region are among the Combined Authority’s stated aims so I am glad that through our £1bn Transport Fund we have been able to work with Wakefield Council to develop the Wakefield Eastern Relief Road.”