A further phase in the major highways infrastructure programme for Crewe is set to go ahead.
If approved by cabinet next week It would relieve the town of another pinch-point to the east, enhance connectivity, reduce journey times and keep residents, motorists and businesses on the move.
The Crewe Green roundabout improvement scheme would become the next generator of jobs, offering a huge boost to the local economy.
Cheshire East Council’s Cabinet is recommended to approve the Crewe Green roundabout improvement scheme, subject to planning consent, when it meets on Tuesday (October 18).
The ambitious plan would see the removal of most traffic signals and a much enlarged oval-shaped roundabout, which will allow all traffic movements to be catered for via a single road junction with each individual merging and exit point significantly widened.
Lengthening the existing roundabout will enable Sydney Road and Hungerford Road to connect directly, again via a widened highway.
Safe routes would be provided for all non-motorised traffic to enable pedestrians, cyclists and mobility scooters to negotiate the roundabout using footways, cycleways and signal-controlled crossings.
Road signage would also be improved to give clearer lane directions to road users, reducing driver confusion and enhancing road safety and traffic flow.
Costing £5m, it would remove another frustrating pinch point on the edge of the town and would add to the suite of major highways improvement schemes, including Junctions 16 and 17 of the M6, the Basford West Spine Road (Jack Mills Way) and Crewe Green Link Road (David Whitby Way).
The council also has funds in place to progress the Congleton Link Road, Poynton Relief Road and Middlewich Eastern Bypass.
Improving the Crewe Green roundabout will be a further step towards greater connectivity and traffic flow around Crewe. This, together with the replacement of the Sydney Road Bridge, would also speed up journeys to Leighton Hospital and to the wider highways network.
It would also provide capacity for the predicted growth in traffic up to 2030 as set out in the emerging Local Plan.
Access to strategic employment sites in the locality, and to the town of Crewe, would be significantly enhanced.
The funding pot would be made up of local growth fund and section 106 monies from local private development schemes.
Councillor David Brown, cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “This scheme represents a further landmark in the council’s long-term strategy for improving connectivity, creating employment and housing opportunities and preparing Crewe for the arrival of high-speed rail in the shape of HS2.
“Together with the replacement of the Sydney Road Bridge, this will relieve the motorists and commercial drivers of some of the frustrations they have faced owing to limited highways capacity.
“But there is no gain without pain and these improvement works cannot go ahead without some inconvenience to residents and businesses, which we intend should be minimised as much as possible and in proportion to the scale of the scheme.”
If the scheme is approved at Cabinet, followed by planning, then works on statutory services could commence next spring, followed by construction work from spring 2018.
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