Howden relief road work to start next month

Work to build a new £45m relief road in Howden is due to start at the beginning of July, a council has said.

The route would connect the A614 Thorpe Road with Station Road and was expected to take two years to complete.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council said the scheme was "designed to reduce congestion by diverting heavy traffic away from the town centre, reducing accidents, lowering carbon emissions and improving travel times".

Councillor Gary McMaster, the authority's cabinet member for planning, housing and infrastructure, said: "This initiative is part of wider aspirations to enhance infrastructure in Yorkshire and the Humber, ensuring smoother transportation and grow the economy."

Sheffield-based firm Aureos Highways was awarded a contract for the project, which also included building four roundabouts for the scheme.

The authority said the work would begin on Thorpe Road and would include the installation of a new pump station for surface water to the south of the site to improve drainage.

"While the vast majority of the work will be carried out off road, there will be times of traffic management on Thorpe Road and Station Road, although disruption will be kept to a minimum," a council spokesperson said.

Mr McMaster said the new link road would "significantly improve connectivity and ease congestion, giving HGV traffic a different route to avoid the town centre, for the benefit of both motorists, residents and businesses in Howden".

Louise Pavitt, managing director of Aureos Highways, said: "We are delighted to be supporting East Riding of Yorkshire Council on the Howden Relief Road scheme.

"This project is a critical step towards economic development in the region and will provide much needed highways improvements, opening up new routes and easing congestion.

The scheme is funded by local housing developers and the authority via government grants totalling £3m.

Plans for the relief road was approved by the authority's planning committee in June 2023 as part of proposals to build 1,900 homes, a school and a pub.

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