Stafford Western Access Route update
Work is now under way on the multi-million-pound Stafford Western Access Route (SWAR) project which will boost growth and ease congestion in the town centre.
It will enable millions of pounds worth of new housing and business development to take place and improve traffic flow in the town centre, particularly by the railway station.
The new road will link the A34 Foregate Street at Madford Retail Park to the A518 Newport Road Castlefields junction. The road will help improve traffic flow in Gaol Square, Newport Road (east of Kingsway), Station Road, Chell Road, A34 Foregate Street (south of the scheme) and Doxey Road.
The road is being funded by developers and with £15.5million secured by the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Enterprise Partnership through the Government’s Local Growth Fund.
While some traffic management will be put in place, the majority of work will be off current roads and so disruption will be kept to a minimum. The only road closures will be on Doxey Road and Greyfriars at its junction with Madford Retail Park. There will also be some lane closures on the A34 Foregate Street, though traffic will still be able to use the other lanes.
A full closure of Doxey Road will be put in place for one weekend in late autumn 2020 and again from mid November 2020 until mid-February 2021. This is work can take place on and around Doxey Road railway bridge.
The second closure will only take place when the new section of road from Doxey Road to Castlefields is open, so that traffic can then follow a short diversion onto Newport Road.
The scheme will include improved conditions for bus services, pedestrians and cyclists. There will also be environmental benefits through the redevelopment of areas of derelict land and landscaping along the route.
What we are doing now
Over the coming months there will be piling works in the Castletown area and in the Madford Retail Park by Tenpin and Lidl. These piles will support the new road.
Work to build a new temporary mini roundabout on Doxey Road is taking place. This will provide a safe alternative access while construction takes place. The roundabout will take around five weeks to build and temporary traffic signals will be in place at this time. Access to businesses is being maintained throughout.
Temporary fencing has been put up in the Madford Retail Park so that drainage works can take place. Again, all businesses are open as usual.
You can contact a member of the project team on
staffordwestern.accessroute@staffordshire.gov.uk or at the county council on 0300 111 800.
Visit our project page at: bit.ly/2lVkb7a
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