Leeds City Council has announced ‘significant enabling work’ will start this month for a £44m scheme at Dawsons Corner and Stanningley bypass.
The works are set to take up to 18 months to complete by contractor John Sisk and involve substantial enlargement and realignment of the junction.
The plans also ivolve improving safety for pedestrians, cyclists and improving connectivity by providing pedestrian and cycling facilities at the Dawsons Corner Junction.
It will also improve bus facilities and introduce dedicated bus lanes on at A647 Bradford road, widen the carriageway on the A6120 Ring Road (which will allow for the addition of a shared pedestrian/cycle route), and generally improve connectivity between Leeds and Bradford.
Dawsons Corner connects the A647 Stanningley Road and the A6120 Ring Road, with roughly 57,000 vehicles and 1,200 pedestrians and cyclists using Dawsons Corner every day.
The scheme forms part of the Connecting Leeds strategy to maintain and improve Leeds’ Inner and Outer Ring Roads.
Cllr Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and sustainable development, said: ‘I am delighted to see works are set to commence this month - the need to improve the Dawsons Corner junction has been a major priority for some time.
'It’s important not only to improve traffic flow and air quality, but also support essential links to future housing growth and developments and for people to be able to access jobs more easily with consistent travel times.’
The councillor added that the authority will keep residents regularly updated as the works progress, with a website set up with information about the project, plans and timescales.
Sisk’s regional director, Robin Metcalf, said: ‘We’ve made commitments not only to deliver the scheme in a way that causes as little disruption as possible, but also to support the local economy by offering employment opportunities and using local businesses wherever we can.
'Our local teams will be on hand throughout the works to help keep things running smoothly and to work closely with the public as the project progresses.’
The work is jointly funded, with £35.7m coming from the Department for Transport and the remaining £8.47m coming from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Prior to the scheduled start of the works in July this year, there is a drop-in event being hosted by the city council on 15 May between 11am-7pm at Pudsey Civic Hall.
