Coventry motorists warned of year of roadworks traffic chaos

[dutchman]

Major roadworks in Coventry city centre are set to begin next month as massive Friargate redevelopment scheme gets under way.



It will be the start of an ambitious £59million scheme to transform the city centre – but commuters face more than a year of traffic chaos in the meantime.

Junction six of the ring road, by the train station, will be almost completely closed to traffic from next month until June 2015.

The closure is scheduled to start at 8pm on March 22 as work begins to construct a 100-metre wide pedestrian bridge linking the train station with the city centre.

Vehicles approaching from Warwick Road will only be able to exit onto the ring road to the left, towards junction seven and there will be no access to the city centre.



Train station access will be available via a specially created right-hand turn on Warwick Road and as normal when approaching from junction five.

Traffic will still be able to flow along the ring road, under junction six, apart from on March 22 and 23 when the bridge over the ring road will be demolished.

In an attempt to avoid nearby roads being used as a shortcut, a camera-protected bus and taxi gate will be installed on Quinton Road approaching the ring road to complement the existing bus gate on Stoney Road.

Almost £20m of European money has been secured for the Friargate development and Coun Rachel Lancaster, cabinet member for public services, said this project could attract further investment.

“One of the reasons we are so good at getting funding is that we are good at spending it,” she said.

“The Olympics and the work at Broadgate was a fantastic example of us delivering work on time and on budget. Other cities are watching Coventry to see what we are doing.

“Attracting external funding is important because, from a roads perspective, our funding has actually been reduced by £1m because of direct government cuts.”

Ongoing work at Hearsall Lane, Kenilworth Road, Quinton Road, The Butts and junction four of the ring road should all have been completed ahead of the junction six closure in an attempt to minimise disruption.

Coventry City Council will be holding special drop-in sessions at a vacant shop in Smithford Way to help people understand the junction six changes and how to plan their routes to minimise disruption to their journeys.

Sessions will be held between 10am and 3pm on Thursday-Saturday, March 6-8.

Information on the latest road closures can also be found at coventry.gov.uk/yourcity.

[dutchman]

Council to hold drop-in sessions to explain traffic plans during Friargate work

People can find out more about upcoming work on the bridge deck at junction 6 of Coventry’s ring road at public drop-in sessions this week.

Coventry City Council will be running a pop-up shop in Smithford Way, from 10am-3pm, Thursday to Saturday, in a bid to answer people’s questions ahead of the massive project starting.

The Telegraph reported recently how commuters faced months of disruption as work to replace the existing roundabout with a bridge deck begins, as part of the Friargate redvelopment project.