THE DETAILS of a long-awaited £24.3million project to ease a bottleneck on a main road in Rugby have been explained in a new video.
Warwickshire County Council (WCC) has released the video to explain in detail the proposed A426/A4071 Improvement Scheme, which aims to ease traffic flow at the Avon Mill roundabout and Hunters Lane junction.
Residents have less than three weeks to give feedback on the long-gestating scheme, which was first announced in 2015, and proposes to tackle tailbacks by enlarging the roundabout and adding additional lanes on entries and exits.
The junction between Newbold Road and Hunters Lane would be replaced with a new roundabout, which would connect to the Avon Mill junction via a short dual carriageway on a new bridge to be built over the River Avon.
A second new bridge would be built for a new footpath and cycleway connecting the A426 Leicester Road to Wood Street, and crossings on the A426 Leicester Road would be improved to provide safer access to Avon Valley School.
Warwickshire County Council says the scheme will reduce congestion, promote active travel, and help Rugby cope with extra traffic.
WCC’s transport spokesman Coun Jan Matecki said: “This scheme is crucial to tackle congestion, improve journey times, and provide more travel options for people in Rugby, whether they’re driving, cycling, or walking.
“We are committed to working with residents and stakeholders to develop a scheme that meets the needs of the community and delivers lasting benefits.”
The scheme is currently estimated to cost around £24.3million, subject to review – with £2.4million to come from developer contributions, £260,000 from the government, and £100,000 from WCC. The council hopes to secure the remaining funding from the government.
Construction is due to start by Spring/Summer 2025, subject to design, funding and planning approvals.
A planning planning application will be submitted later this year, once feedback has been assessed. WCC says residents will be regularly updated on progress.
Visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fP5BOfTLkY to watch the video, which was filmed at a recent online engagement session.
Another video showing traffic modelling before and after the proposed improvements can be found at https://youtu.be/UI96wHMKG7k
Visit http://tinyurl.com/mryampbm for more information and to complete a survey about the scheme before the closing date of March 20.
