£9m Shropshire road shake-up revealed
[gallery] Transport bosses are to spend £9 million on four major road improvement projects in Shropshire, it was announced today.
There will be major changes along the A5 to the Emstrey Island roundabout, Churncote Island and the Edgebold roundabout near Shrewsbury, as well as on removing the A49 Preston Boat roundabout and replacing it with a signal controlled-junction.
It is hoped the changes will help Shrewsbury's plans to create more than 2,000 jobs and 1,800 homes in the area by 2020.
The Highways Agency schemes, announced by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, will begin next year and are scheduled to be finished by the end of 2014.
A total of £3.8 million will be spent on the Emstrey Island roundabout in 2014, with the investment announced just three years after £500,000 was spent on a revamp that saw traffic lights installed.
Bosses will realign both A5 approaches to the island, as well as creating dedicated turning lanes and two dedicated lanes through the roundabout for traffic on the A5 in a bid to reduce congestion.
Meanwhile, work is to start next year on the A49 job, with £3.3 million being spent on replacing the existing Preston Boat roundabout with a traffic lights junction.
And a further £1.5 million will go on widening the A458 westbound and A5 northbound approach roads to the A5 Churncote Island roundabout, as well as improving signage and road markings.
The final scheme will see £400,000 spent on widening the approaches to the Edgebold roundabout on the A5 and revising the signage and road markings.
Mr McLoughlin said: "These million road improvements prove the Government's determination to accelerate growth and cut congestion. By removing bottlenecks, these road schemes will help get people to and from work and power the economy.
