Cheshire East Council is to set aside an additional £2.4m to fund one of the most important road improvement schemes in Crewe.
A revised estimate of the overall cost of £7.4m has been approved by the council’s Cabinet today (Tuesday). The original estimated cost of the scheme was prepared in June, 2016, and based on a limited level of project design and since then the scope and extent of the overall work required has now been fully evaluated following public consultation.
The project is already part-funded – £3.3m – by the Local Enterprise Partnership and further funding will come through the National Productivity Investment Fund plus developer contributions.
Major improvements to the Crewe Green Roundabout are expected to begin towards the end of 2017 and will remove a traffic pinch-point which has frustrated motorists and commercial vehicles travelling between the town, Haslington, Middlewich, Sandbach and the M6 motorway.
The scheme, which will see the removal of traffic signals and the widening of junctions to increase traffic flow, is predicted to unlock land for 570 new homes and create some 750 new jobs.
Removing the bottleneck will make a significant contribution to the further economic development and growth of Crewe and help to drive forward further infrastructure projects including a HS2 hub station.
Councillor David Brown, cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “In agreeing this additional level of funding, the council can move ahead with its plans to relieve Crewe of an extremely frustrating traffic bottleneck.
“This is good news for motorists and business, the local economy and environment.”
The council will also press ahead with tying up the legal requirements for preparatory work and procurement for the installation of a new two-lane rail bridge at Sydney Road in Crewe, another major pinch-point for the town.
Discussions will begin with statutory undertakers and with Network Rail.
The £10.5m bridge replacement scheme is due to commence in autumn/winter 2018. The present single-lane bridge crosses the Crewe to Manchester line and carries a strategic B road route to Leighton Hospital. Traffic is signal controlled.
Both the Crewe Green Roundabout project and the Sydney Road Bridge scheme will be coordinated to minimise disruption as far as possible.
The council has recently completed a public engagement exercise which resulted in positive feedback and favourable comments on the proposed design and the plans for the replacement of the Sydney Road rail bridge and the roundabout enhancement scheme at Crewe Green.
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