Junction improvement plan could gain funding boost
GoogleA Bradford junction improvement scheme first proposed seven years ago is expected to gain a £6.6m boost in funding.
The junction where Toller Lane, Whetley Hill, Whetley Lane and Carlisle Road meet was first earmarked for major improvements in 2019 as part of a city-wide scheme to reduce congestion at the city's busiest junctions.
The works would see the creation of new bus priority signals, eight pedestrian crossings, the closure of Cross Road to traffic and the planting of 54 trees.
At a meeting of West Yorkshire Combined Authority's investment committee next week, members will be asked to approve the money for the scheme.
This would take its total budget to £8.56m, with the changes hoped to reduce journey times by 25% for vehicles passing through the junction.
There have been 31 road traffic casualties on the stretch of road in the last five years, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
The Toller Lane junction "experiences significant congestion", a report said, with the traffic also impacting bus services in the area.
"[It] is also a key route to Bradford Royal Infirmary from the city centre, therefore increasing levels of congestion risks impacting ambulances and patients seeking to access the hospital," it added.
A number of derelict properties on the junction were demolished years ago in anticipation of the scheme.
The report said "eight small plots of land" would need to be purchased for the project to continue.
The proposed changes will also introduce:
- Segregated left-turn slip lanes onto Toller Lane from Whetley Lane and Carlisle Road approaches
- Footway widening and enhancements along Church Street and Whetley Lane
- A stretch of new cycle lane between Cross Road and Church Street
- A bus stop shelter upgrade and highway resurfacing
The delay in delivering the plan was due to it being "decoupled" from a wider project that included Thornton Road, the report said.
Funding to finish the Toller Lane scheme would come from the authority's transport capital programme.
If funding is approved, work could start in October and be completed by November 2027.
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