Highways work begins as part of Telford town centre expansion
Work will begin today on the road infrastructure in Telford town centre to aid the £450m redevelopment of Southwater and Telford Shopping Centre.
The £11.8m phased improvements are needed to allow the expansion of Telford town centre, and will increase capacity at key entry points.
Making the Box Road two way will improve access to and between the £250m Southwater development and Telford Shopping Centre, which is soon to undergo a £200m redevelopment.
Work will start with improvements to Malinslee Roundabout which are expected to be completed by February 2014 in time for the opening of the new ASDA store and the Southwater development.
The Highways Agency will also be installing traffic lights on the Forge roundabout and widening the carriageway around the island to three lanes to improve traffic flow to and from the M54 with the aim of reducing queues on to the motorway. The work will be completed before March 2014.
Work to make the Box Road two way will be completed by March 2015 with each section of the road opened to two way traffic when completed.
Central barriers will be kept in place on completion of each phase to help avoid any confusion.
Councillor Hilda Rhodes, cabinet member for Transport, said: “This is a major change for Telford town centre to accommodate the expansion in leisure, retail and hotel facilities and I am delighted that work is about to start.
“The new layout will help create a more traditional town centre feel, with a greater choice of routes to all parts of the town centre, and slow traffic down making it safer for all road users.
“We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience or disruption caused while the work is ongoing but making the Box Road two way will have significant long term benefits for the town.”
