£31m investment completed as city bridge fully re-opens

The Regent Street Flyover, in central Leeds, has fully reopened to traffic.

The construction of the new flyover on the A64 began two years ago in May 2020, after it reached the end of its usable life.

Since then, both the southern and northern structures have been demolished and rebuilt, with over 120 metres of new bridge installed.

The works have been completed through a £31m investment, with Balfour Beatty contracted to carry out the construction and the bridge designed by WSP.

The bridge plays a vital role, with an estimated pre-pandemic 43,000 vehicles passing over it every day while 30,000 vehicles pass below it on the A61. The New York Road tunnel off-slip will remain closed whilst further work is carried out in the tunnel.

Work on the flyover forms part of the Connecting Leeds transport strategy. Connecting Leeds is working with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, partners, and stakeholders to improve all aspects of the transport network in Leeds and connecting to the wider Leeds City Region.

The replacement of Regent Street Flyover along with complementary works to the Armley Gyratory, ensures the Inner Ring Road will maintain traffic flow and enable the pedestrianisation of City Square.

Councillor Helen Hayden, executive member for infrastructure and climate, said: “I’m pleased to see this scheme completed on schedule, after two years of very challenging work through the pandemic. The maintenance of this essential route is vital to keeping traffic flowing around the city.

“Throughout the project, there’s also been significant contributions to the local economy.

“For example, contractors have mainly employed local people, engaged with up to 2,000 local students about working in construction and the site team have volunteered 243 hours in the local community.”

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “It’s been a huge undertaking, but the result will last for decades to come and allows for work to remove through traffic from the city centre, creating better walking and cycling spaces for everyone.”

Stephen Semple, area director at Balfour Beatty, said: “Employing 240 local people across the project, we’ve already delivered significant social value to the region.

“This new, vital piece of infrastructure will only serve to further improve the lives of the people of Leeds; reducing journey times and stimulating local economic growth.”

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