Work on an eagerly-anticipated road upgrade which will
transform Hull is due to start in the summer.
It’s all systems go for A63 Castle Street scheme, which will
create a much better connection between the city centre and the
retail and docks area. This will support the city’s economic
growth, improving journeys to and from the centre, and will help
the Port of Hull to thrive.
Following the green light from the Transport Secretary, Highways
England can now set up a site compound and start work on the
ground.
Highways England senior project manager James Leeming said:
This is fantastic news for Hull. We are delighted that the
decision has been signed off, and we can now look forward to
delivering improvements that will genuinely transform the city.
These changes will make life considerably easier for road users
and pedestrians. I want to take this opportunity to thank
everyone who has supported our plans, and I’m sure they share
our delight in hearing the news we’ve been waiting for.
The major Highways England project, which is a key scheme in
Transport for the North’s strategic transport plan, will see the
creation of a new junction by lowering the level of the A63 at
the Mytongate junction.
Ferensway and Commercial Road will cross the A63, creating a
split-level junction. The eastbound carriageway between Princes
Dock Street and Market Place will be widened to three lanes, and
a new bridge built over the A63 at Porter Street.
Meanwhile the city’s new bridge also funded by Highways England
with a £4m contribution from Humber Local Enterprise Partnership
(LEP), which is to be named after Hull’s first female GP Dr Mary
Murdoch, will be unveiled this summer. It will connect the city
centre to the marina, waterfront and fruit market. The structure
is to cross the dual carriageway of the A63, allowing pedestrians
and cyclists to safely cross the road. It will also ease
congestion on the A63.
The structure is being part funded with a £4m contribution from
the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership’s local growth fund
programme, secured through its growth deals with Government and
part of the Government’s commitment to the Northern Powerhouse.
Councillor Daren Hale, portfolio holder for economic regeneration
and planning at Hull City Council said:
We are thrilled to see this long-awaited projecting finally
given the green light. Over the past twenty years the council
has worked tirelessly alongside Highways England, our
colleagues in the LEP and our local MPs to lobby for this
essential upgrade and to ensure this scheme is high on the
agenda for the Department for Transport.
We are pleased that the Government has finally recognised how
crucial the upgrade to the A63 is, providing a key component of
the city’s transport infrastructure improvement and wider
long-term regeneration plans.
The council is also working closely with Highways England and
Balfour Beatty on what we hope is just the first of many
employment opportunities that will become available for local
people in the city.
Now we’ve been given the full go ahead for this significant
transport scheme to progress, it is time for the real work to
begin.
