Coventry's £15m 'park-like' ring road redevelopment opens

A £15m redevelopment of a section of Coventry's ring road has reopened to the public, almost 15 months after it closed.



The work has seen a 40-year-old concrete flyover removed and replaced with a "bridge deck" to link the city centre and the railway station.

The city council said the work, which was funded by European money, was "enormous".

The junction will form part of the Motofest Festival, starting on Friday.

Coventry City Council said the work had seen the demolition of 1960s concrete subways to create a "park-like" entrance to the city from the railway station at Junction 6.

It forms the first part of the Friargate redevelopment, which will see a new £50m council headquarters built near the station.

Steve Weir, the regional growth fund programme manager, said: "The bridge itself is looking really good but the real value is what's going to happen afterwards.

"It's all about the commercial development on the other side of the bridge. We are moving all the old '60s buildings from the front of the station.

"We are doing something new that will look like it's from the 21st Century, not the stuff that's been clogging up the station for a long time."

The work has realigned the route with the historical Warwick Road entrance that led into the city.

The city council toured the area on a bus as the junction was declared open.

Rachel Lancaster, who oversees public services for the council said: "This has been an enormous project - one that completely changes the face of this part of the city."

She said the opening had been timed to coincide with the three-day MotoFest transport event which will be using the new layout.