£1.6m work to improve Shrewsbury gateway complete
A major £1.6 million road improvement scheme in the heart of Shrewsbury has finally been completed after months of disruption for motorists.
Work on the Northern Gateway scheme in the Castle Foregate area of the town began in September, and Shropshire Council bosses carried out a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to celebrate its completion.
The six-month project has seen work carried out around Chester Street, Cross Street and Castle Foregate to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. It has included changes to on-street parking, new pedestrian and cycle crossings, up-graded traffic signals, landscaping and lighting.
The job was carried out in two phases, with the first ending on November 30 and the second starting on January 7.
Keith Jones, Shropshire Council's senior highways engineer, said: "This is a major approach to the town centre, and this work will make it a far more attractive, pleasant and safer environment, with better lighting and paving, wider pavements, more safe crossings for pedestrians, improved traffic flow and better traffic signals.
"This important project has already made a huge difference to the appearance of the Chester Street area. Now that work is completed, drivers, pedestrians and cyclists really will see the full benefits of the work.
"This has been a challenging site to work on so close to the town centre, but the council and our contractors have worked hard to minimise any disruption and maintain access to the town for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, and we thank people for bearing with us while work has been carried out."
Jake Wentworth, project manager at consultants Mouchel, said: "The construction work was challenging due to the busy nature of the town centre location, but now that the work is completed the scheme is already beginning to bring considerable benefits to the travelling public and pedestrians alike."
Some residents have claimed the work has led to further delays for motorists using Ellesmere Road on the approach to the town centre.
Last week Malcolm Martyn, who lives on Coton Crescent, said he was being forced to take a 12-mile detour around the outskirts of town to take his three children to school and nursery in Bayston Hill.
He said the traffic jams caused by the lights had doubled journey times for people living in the Greenfields area and said drivers had been waiting in queues for up to 30 minutes.
Money for the work was provided by the Department of Communities and Local Government, the Department for Transport and the Big Lottery fund.
