York ring road's Wetherby Road roundabout improvement complete

8 February 2019

The first milestone in a project to reduce congestion on York Outer Ring Road has been reached with the completion of an upgrade to Wetherby road roundabout.

Road users can now take advantage of increased capacity at the roundabout, allowing traffic to flow through the area quicker. The upgrade has provided additional lanes on the ring-road entry and exit, making three on the approach and two when exiting the roundabout.

Seven roundabouts

Funded through the Combined Authority's West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund, the £38 million programme will see seven roundabouts upgraded, which improve journey times and see the introduction of improved facilities for cyclists and pedestrians.

The West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund, and the Leeds City Region Growth Deal - a £1 billion package of Government investment through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.

Designed to encourage growth

Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Commitee said: "Our programme of West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund schemes is designed to encourage growth from which everyone across the Leeds City Region can benefit."

"The £38 million York Outer Ring Road improvements programme is a crucial scheme that by improving travel flows and speeding up journey times will provide a significant boost for projected local housing and employment growth, and I'm glad to see this important first stage complete."

First step

Cllr Peter Dew, York Council's executive member for transport and planning, said: "Upgrading Wetherby Road roundabout is the first step in an ambitious project to improve journey times on the outer ring road. The full benefit will be seen when all seven roundabouts are upgraded. All our designs could be incorporated into a scheme to dual the ring road if we can secure funding to make it happen."

"I'd like to thank residents, businesses and commuters who been patient with us during the works, but I am certain that the short term disruption will be well worth it when the full scheme is complete."

Real benefits

Cllr Keith Aspden, York Council's executive member for economic development and community engagement, said: "The York outer ring road upgrade project is a long term upgrade which will give real benefits to residents, businesses and commuters."

"As part of our wider transport strategy, we will also continue to identify opportunities to support cycling, walking and sustainable transport, as we must continue to work towards our goals of improving public transport and air quality in the city."

Monks Cross

Work is set to start early this year at the Monks Cross roundabout. It is also hoped that the scheme will be linked at the earliest possible opportunity with the dualling upgrade programme to minimise disruption subject to the confirmation of funding from the Department for Transport.

The York Outer Ring Road improvements programme is being funded through the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund, and the Leeds City Region Growth Deal - a £1 billion package of Government investment through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.

Find out more about the York outer ring road roundabout upgrades