Road schemes worth £143m get green light

Better bus infrastructure and a long-awaited footbridge are among several major road schemes across Bradford which have been given the green light.

Officials have approved £143m worth of work, with projects including major changes to Kings Road, a new footbridge linking Steeton to Silsden, and new bus lanes on Leeds Road and Westgate.

The money is part of a £5.7bn government pot of cash distributed to councils for transport projects.

A report signed off by Bradford Council's decision-making executive said the works would contribute to a "safer" and "sustainable" transport network - but also warned there would be "temporary disruptions" from each phase of work.

Projects getting the go-ahead included the long-planned footbridge over the busy A629, linking Steeton and Silsden.

The bridge has been in the planning stages for well over a decade, and will get £12.9m funding from the programme. But, this would only be for Phase 1 of the work – the actual bridge.

The eventual plan was for new pedestrian and cycle paths linking the two villages.

However, the report considered by the executive stressed that no funding had so far been allocated for that phase, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Bradford Council said about £35m of the funding would also go towards extensive improvement works on Kings Road, which runs from Wrose to Bradford city centre.

Another £20m would be used to create a "sustainable transport corridor" on Wakefield Road, and £4.2m would improve "bus hotspots" at Westgate and near the Thornbury Gyratory close to Leeds Road.

And £57m of the cash, all of which would be distributed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, would be spent on general highways repairs, the council said.

The report, presented to the executive on Tuesday, said: "Safer, well-designed transport networks can help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour by increasing the presence of people in public areas.

"By providing and promoting sustainable travel options, the programme also offers alternatives to private car use, potentially improving community safety by mitigating issues around driver behaviour, such as speeding or congestion."

However the report also warned the extensive round of works "may bring temporary disruptions".

The council said it would "seek to mitigate risks to community safety" by managing the works and pedestrian access.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, the authority's spokesman for regeneration, planning and transport, said the new investment would "unlock" several key transport corridors and would deliver much-needed upgrades.

"There's a lot of historic transport schemes in Bradford where we have needed that update, it's never had the funding it's deserved. This is a really important package of funding."

This next major phase of roadworks for Bradford comes after the recent completion of regeneration works in the city centre which caused significant disruption for more than a year, with many businesses expressing concerns.

However, traders have been more hopeful since the works were completed.

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