Plans for a new multi-million pound road, off the A500, have been approved - construction work is set to start within the coming months.
The new Etruria Valley Link Road will link Festival Park to the Wolstanton roundabout (located off the D-road). The project is expected to reduce congestion and speed-up journey times on the A500 and A53 (upon opening in 2022).
The new road is a strategic move that will improve access to the city's thriving Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone.
The scheme involves:
- Improving the two roundabouts at the Wolstanton junction on the A500;
- Creating a new viaduct over the West Coast Mainline;
- Extending Shelton Boulevard, within Festival Park;
- Creating a central roundabout linking Shelton Boulevard and Festival Way to the A500;
- Creating a new canal bridge crossing to Festival Way;
- Creating a mini-roundabout at the junction of Grange Lane and Church Lane, Wolstanton;
- Enlarging the Marina Way roundabout, at Festival Park.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council is leading the project, with funds coming from SoTCC, the Department for Transport, the Regional Growth Fund, and the Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Councillor Daniel Jellyman, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, said:
“The link road will be one of the biggest and most complex projects the council has delivered in decades.
“The project is backed by the Department for Transport at a national level which recognises, like we do, the link road’s huge potential to boost the city’s economy and businesses by reducing congestion and further opening up an employment site which is already home to thousands of workers and global companies.”
The approval of the scheme comes as Highways England continues to widen the A500 between Porthill and Wolstanton.
Project Manager, Humzah Mir added:
“Our ongoing work to widen the A500 will tackle congestion on one of the busiest roads in the city as well as improve safety and support the local economy.
“The Etruria Valley Link Road will complement improvements to the A500, helping traffic to flow more freely.”