National Highways launches consultation on A46 Walsgrave upgrade

Published by

Nicky Godding

Motorists, businesses and residents are being invited by National Highways to have their say on a major upgrade at the A46 Walsgrave junction in Coventry.

The consultation period on the scheme starts today with details about the project being uploaded onto the scheme website for people to look at.

Members of the public are invited to look at four design options with opportunities to speak to the National Highways project team about the work in a series of online events taking place later this month.

The vital upgrade work to the junction is set to cost between £75m and £125m with a final cost set to be determined later in the process following detailed design work.

National Highways Project Manager, Joe Mulqueen said: "The viable design option for the Walsgrave junction is incredibly exciting and it’s an important scheme on the A46 in Coventry.

"We know that this junction is incredibly busy and once the scheme is complete, it will alleviate congestion at a well-known bottleneck on the A46.

"We’re looking forward to speaking to people to find out what comments they have and to hear their feedback."

Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, events will be held online through Microsoft Teams.

Meeting invitations will be posted on the National Highways webpage ahead of each session. Those unable to attend the online events can also speak to the project team with a special telephone call back service.

The A46 is a strategic link between the East and West Midlands and connects Coventry and Warwickshire to the motorway network.

The Government’s Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) 2020 - 2025 included a commitment to the A46 Coventry Junctions scheme, which includes upgrading both the Binley and the Walsgrave junctions.

Work is currently taking place at Binley to create a new £61m flyover set for completion in early 2022.

Current levels of congestion at Walsgrave and the impacts this has on journey time reliability are having a serious effect on communities and businesses and would constrain future development in the area.

Once the consultation has closed on Monday 14 February 2022, responses will be analysed and a consultation report will be produced summarising the feedback received.

National Highways will then consider the feedback, incorporating the comments received where possible, whilst completing further assessment and design work.

The preferred route announcement for the scheme is set to take place in summer this year and will be taken through to the next stage of design development.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.