City flyover is set for £30m makeover

A key flyover bridge on the inner ring road in Leeds city centre is to be rebuilt in a major £30m project starting in May.

The Regent Street Flyover, which was originally built in the late 1960s, is to be replaced with an enhanced structure to ensure traffic flow can continue on the key route through the city centre for decades to come.

The improvement is part of Connecting Leeds, the long-term transport strategy for Leeds, which features an unprecedented number of schemes set to transform the way people travel.

Regent Street Flyover has an estimated 43,000 vehicles passing over it every day, while 30,000 vehicles pass below it on the A61.

The work, which is scheduled to be completed in spring 2022, will involve some overnight and weekend closures. The A64 (M) and A61 will remain open during the majority of the works, although their capacities will be temporarily reduced from four lanes to two. The A61 Regent Street will maintain its current capacity of four lanes under the flyover throughout.

Leeds City Council chief officer for highways and transportation, Gary Bartlett, said: “We are conscious that there are a lot of works taking place in and around the city at the moment and we are keen to give advance notice and information about the work to enable better journey planning and to promote alternative and more active forms of transport.

“Extra time should be allowed for journeys and where possible, we would like to ask people to leave cars at home and avoid travelling during peak times.

“We will continue to work with bus operators to ensure that buses can continue to operate effectively throughout the work for Leeds residents and those working and visiting the city. We would like to remind people that the city remains open for business, however delays are inevitable when carrying out such a large-scale project.

“We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience that this work may cause. However, we would also like to stress to people that this work is absolutely vital to ensure the bridge remains safe for road users.”