Works are scheduled to start next month on a £2.5m highways improvement scheme for Whitehaven.
Cumbria County Council is delivering the project to reconfigure the road junction at Bransty Row/North Shore Road in the town’s North Shore area.
The scheme will create an enhanced entrance into Whitehaven as well as easing local congestion, improving traffic flow and enhancing road safety for drivers and pedestrians. The works will also help pave the way for significant new development in the town’s North Shore area. Improvement works include:
- Introduction of traffic light controls on Bransty Row/North Shore Road junction.
- Improved pedestrian crossing points and links between the harbour, the proposed new developments and the town centre’s historic core.
- Enhancement of the road junction at Tangier Street/George Street to improve traffic flow and facilitate development.
- Relocation and increase in provision for taxis to reflect forecast increased footfall in the area.
- Enhanced provision for cyclists, people with disabilities and the partially sighted.
The county council has appointed Thomas Armstrong Ltd as the main contractor for the project. Work is scheduled to start on w/c 5 August 2019 and is expected to be completed in Spring 2020.
Two way traffic will be maintained during peak times. Temporary lights and road closures may be required outside these times but the contractor will try and keep disruption to a minimum. Temporary taxi ranks and bus stops will be provided during the works programme.
The county council secured £1.66m of funding for the highways upgrade scheme from the government’s National Productivity Investment Fund, together with a £834,000 contribution from profit for purpose property firm, BEC, to support the North Shore regeneration.
Cllr Keith Little, Cumbria County Council Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: “The county council has secured significant funding to secure these improvements, which will create an enhanced gateway for Whitehaven and help unlock substantial new investment in the town. This scheme will improve traffic flow and road safety at a key junction.”
Michael Pemberton, CEO at BEC, added: “A thriving modern town needs flowing traffic. We are pleased to see work start next month to make the Bransty junction safer for everyone and I hope they will make a lasting contribution to the town ahead of the development of our North Shore scheme.”
Mark Steele, Civil Engineering and Highways Director at Thomas Armstrong (Construction) Ltd, added: “We are delighted to be awarded this contract which will secure job security for our West Cumbria based site teams. We have a vast experience in working in town centre environments, which requires a particular set of skills, which we have acquired over numerous projects over the years.”
