Latest news with #NorthWestReliefRoad
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Roman road to tunnels: History of town's bypasses
With plans for Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road paused this week, a long history of new roads around the town could be coming to an end, at least for the time being. The Liberal Democrat administration elected to run Shropshire Council in May had stood on a platform of cancelling the route, and is in talks with the government to permanently end the project. Since cars started to become popular nearly 100 years ago, until the last big stretch of bypass was constructed at the end of the last century, Shropshire's engineers and politicians have expanded the road network to deal with growing traffic. When Thomas Telford built what would become the A5 in the early 1800s, it was so central that he demolished part of Shrewsbury Abbey on his way through the town. Despite the widening of English Bridge in the 1920s, the double river crossing and narrow streets in the town centre became an unsustainable route for growing traffic on the main London-Holyhead Road. So a plan was hatched to dodge the river loop altogether and build a new road joining Thieves Lane from Emstrey to Roman Road at Shelton. It was opened in May 1933 by the then Princess Royal. This one never made it, but a 1950s proposal would have seen a bypass inside the river loop, between the English Bridge and the railway station. Part of this would have run along the river, but the Shrewsbury Chronicle of 11 December 1953 noted: "The road would have to be carried up to Castle Gates at a very high incline, or pass through a very deep cut." The paper, reporting on an inquiry into the plan, said the alternative would be to "tunnel under the castle and out into the Station Square". After talks during the 1950s about new routes around, through and even under the town centre, the next big step came in 1964. As a river town, crossing water is a key consideration for Shrewsbury's traffic. Aside from the English and Welsh bridges in the town centre, the next road crossings in either direction were in Atcham and Montford Bridge. The construction of the Telford Way Bridge in 1964, nearly 40 years after the widening of the English Bridge and replacement of Atcham's, marked the first completely new crossing in centuries. It opened up traffic between the north of the town, around Sundorne and Harlescott, and Monkmoor in the east. Although the Telford Way bridge was a step forward, its eastern end left drivers in Monkmoor and facing a journey towards the town centre to get anywhere else. In 1971, Shropshire County Council produced a report recommending new roads from the Column area to Meole Brace (Pritchard Way and Hazeldine Way), to Telford Way (Bage Way) and to English Bridge (Old Potts Way). Despite a suggestion they could be completed by 1976, it took decades - Old Potts Way was not completed until the 1990s. But the finished roads, linked with the Telford Way bridge, gave an alternative north-south route around town. Probably the biggest step forward for drivers wanting to avoid Shrewsbury town centre was the completion of the A5 (and A49) bypass in 1992 around the east and south of the town. Although Shrewsbury has grown to meet the "new" A5, especially in the south and west, it still very much marks the outer boundary of the town and is mostly dual carriageway. It also made another double crossing of the River Severn on the A49 stretch between Monkmoor and Uffington. But although the question of a north-west section was under discussion by this point, it was to remain a talking point for decades more. Although the A49 bypass again helped traffic get from north to south, those who wanted to get from one side of the town to the other at the northern end had to cross through Harlescott, including a railway level crossing and increasingly busy crossroads. The last major section of 20th Century bypass around Shrewsbury alleviated this by taking traffic from the A49/A53 junction across the northern side of town to Ellesmere Road. It opened in August 1999. This provided a natural northern end for any future North West Relief Road - indeed it had been part of the early plans for it. But with that road now looking less likely, traffic between there and the west of town either heads through the centre, or takes alternative routes through the neighbouring villages. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Your Voice Your Vote: Relief road a key issue Ring road costs set at £215m as budget talks loom Controversial relief road plans approved Relief road work put on hold Council looks for way out of relief road scheme Your Voice Your Vote: Relief road a key issue Shropshire Archives
BBC News
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Roman road to tunnels: History of Shrewsbury bypasses
With plans for Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road paused this week, a long history of new roads around the town could be coming to an end, at least for the time Liberal Democrat administration elected to run Shropshire Council in May had stood on a platform of cancelling the route, and is in talks with the government to permanently end the project. Since cars started to become popular nearly 100 years ago, until the last big stretch of bypass was constructed at the end of the last century, Shropshire's engineers and politicians have expanded the road network to deal with growing traffic. 1933: Thieves Lane to Roman Road When Thomas Telford built what would become the A5 in the early 1800s, it was so central that he demolished part of Shrewsbury Abbey on his way through the the widening of English Bridge in the 1920s, the double river crossing and narrow streets in the town centre became an unsustainable route for growing traffic on the main London-Holyhead Road. So a plan was hatched to dodge the river loop altogether and build a new road joining Thieves Lane from Emstrey to Roman Road at was opened in May 1933 by the then Princess Royal. 1953: Tunnelling under town? This one never made it, but a 1950s proposal would have seen a bypass inside the river loop, between the English Bridge and the railway of this would have run along the river, but the Shrewsbury Chronicle of 11 December 1953 noted: "The road would have to be carried up to Castle Gates at a very high incline, or pass through a very deep cut."The paper, reporting on an inquiry into the plan, said the alternative would be to "tunnel under the castle and out into the Station Square". 1964: A new river crossing After talks during the 1950s about new routes around, through and even under the town centre, the next big step came in a river town, crossing water is a key consideration for Shrewsbury's traffic. Aside from the English and Welsh bridges in the town centre, the next road crossings in either direction were in Atcham and Montford construction of the Telford Way Bridge in 1964, nearly 40 years after the widening of the English Bridge and replacement of Atcham's, marked the first completely new crossing in opened up traffic between the north of the town, around Sundorne and Harlescott, and Monkmoor in the east. 1970s-1990s: Completing the inner ring road Although the Telford Way bridge was a step forward, its eastern end left drivers in Monkmoor and facing a journey towards the town centre to get anywhere 1971, Shropshire County Council produced a report recommending new roads from the Column area to Meole Brace (Pritchard Way and Hazeldine Way), to Telford Way (Bage Way) and to English Bridge (Old Potts Way). Despite a suggestion they could be completed by 1976, it took decades - Old Potts Way was not completed until the 1990s. But the finished roads, linked with the Telford Way bridge, gave an alternative north-south route around town. 1992: The modern bypass Probably the biggest step forward for drivers wanting to avoid Shrewsbury town centre was the completion of the A5 (and A49) bypass in 1992 around the east and south of the Shrewsbury has grown to meet the "new" A5, especially in the south and west, it still very much marks the outer boundary of the town and is mostly dual carriageway. It also made another double crossing of the River Severn on the A49 stretch between Monkmoor and Uffington. But although the question of a north-west section was under discussion by this point, it was to remain a talking point for decades more. 1999: Old century, (another) new bypass Although the A49 bypass again helped traffic get from north to south, those who wanted to get from one side of the town to the other at the northern end had to cross through Harlescott, including a railway level crossing and increasingly busy last major section of 20th Century bypass around Shrewsbury alleviated this by taking traffic from the A49/A53 junction across the northern side of town to Ellesmere Road. It opened in August provided a natural northern end for any future North West Relief Road - indeed it had been part of the early plans for with that road now looking less likely, traffic between there and the west of town either heads through the centre, or takes alternative routes through the neighbouring villages. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Conservative leader disappointed in bypass pause
A decision to suspend work on a planned bypass has been met with disappointment by those who wanted to see it North West Relief Road was proposed by Shropshire Council's previous Conservative administration, but the authority is now run by the Liberal Democrats who believe the £215m scheme is unaffordable and want to scrap Thomas, the leader of the seven Conservative councillors to survive the elections in May, said it would have been a "vital infrastructure project".He said the Lib Dems should "go back to the government with the business case" for the road was crucial to tackling congestion in Shrewsbury and surrounding villages. Thomas described the project as a "once in a lifetime improvement to Shropshire". On Thursday, the council took the decision to pause work, so talks could take place with the government about scrapping the Kidd, leader of the authority, said the scheme was "simply unaffordable", and she also wanted to secure guarantees the council would not have to return the £39m from the government that has already been said his party had been confident in getting the funding needed because a "real business case" had been also said the Tories' dramatic defeat had not been because the relief road was unpopular."It wasn't just a referendum on the North West Relief Road," Thomas added. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Shrewsbury relief road work put on hold
All work on a proposed bypass has been paused to allow talks to take place with the Department for Transport (DfT) about its a change in leadership at Shropshire Council, the authority has been looking to scrap Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road, and a meeting was held with the DfT on council was told there would be no more funding for the project and that work would have to be stopped before further discussions could take council, which is now run by the Liberal Democrats, has said it would like to avoid paying back the money it has already received from the government. The scheme was originally put forward by the previous Conservative administration, with the aim of reducing congestion and pollution in the town was opposed by environmental groups and opposition parties because of the costs involved and the possible environmental impact of the work, with both suggesting the money would be better spent on other schemes to reduce cost of constructing the road was originally estimated at £ years later, the estimated cost stands at £215m, due to planning delays, significant increases in global construction costs, and concerns with the scheme's governance the meeting on Monday, DfT officers confirmed that they would not award any more money than had been originally allocated to the project. Furthermore, the Local Transport Fund of £136.4m, originally mooted by the previous administration to fund the scheme, has been replaced with a Local Transport Grant totalling only £ DfT said if work on the scheme was stopped, formal discussions could take place with Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood MP, the DfT and other parts of central government about the £39m it has already spent on the leader Heather Kidd said it was "made very clear that no more funding would be allocated to the scheme".With the possibility that costs could rise still further, she said: ""Borrowing that level of money is not a serious option given our financial position and the implications it would have for the rest of our budget and services."She said this created a £176m funding gap for the relief road and made it "simply unaffordable", so the council had no choice but to cancel that decision would still have to be made by full council. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Protests as council sets out case for relief road
A planned relief road would be a major economic boost to Shrewsbury, Shropshire Council has said. It has published a revised business case for the North West Relief Road, which estimates the scheme would cost £215m. Environmental campaigners held a protest before it was presented to a meeting at Shrewsbury's Guildhall on Thursday. Opposition parties announced earlier this month they would scrap the scheme if they take control of the authority after May's local elections. The draft Full Business Case updates a similar document published in November and sets out the possible benefits of the relief road. The council said it would reduce congestion in the town and shorten the average journey time across northern Shrewsbury by 17 minutes. It said this would also free up space on the roads for public transport and make it easier to walk and cycle. The council's business case estimated that for every £1 spent on the scheme, it would deliver economic benefits worth £3.88. It said this ranked the transport scheme among those categorised as being "high value in the country". The leader of the Conservative-run authority, Lezley Picton, said the draft document made a "very strong case to the UK government for support and investment". She also said the £38m of government money already spent on the plans would be wasted if it did not go ahead. But because local council elections are due to be held in May, there will be no chance for councillors to discuss the Full Business Case before the summer. Opposition councillors attending the meeting on Thursday said they were furious the document was published 35 minutes before it was due to be held. Some said they only discovered it had been published during the meeting. Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green groups have all said they want the scheme scrapped, claiming it is too expensive and will not solve traffic problems. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Plan to scrap bypass revealed ahead of election 'Significant weakness' in relief road funding 'Relief road will cut crashes in our village' No commitment to relief road funding in MP meeting Shropshire Council
