A series of drop-in events are being held for people to view plans for the new £5.1million scheme to improve the busy A19/A191 Holystone Interchange and the northern end of Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside.
The work includes widening the Holystone roundabout and its approaches, adding a new lane to the A191 from Cobalt to Holystone Interchange and making it easier for pedestrians to cross the road.
Information drop-in events will be held from Monday, September 19 to Wednesday, September 21, from 11am to 2pm, at Cobalt MORE Information and Management Office at Cobalt Central, Silver Fox Way, Cobalt Business Park, NE27 0QJ.
Evening drop-in events will also be held on Thursday, September 22, from 5pm to 7pm and Friday, September 23, from 5pm to 6.45pm at West Allotment Community Centre, Benton Road, West Allotment, NE27 0EP.
Further information about the scheme is available on the council website www.northtyneside.gov.uk The display at Cobalt MORE Information and Management Office will also remain open from 2pm to 5pm but will be unstaffed during these times.
Cllr John Harrison, cabinet member for Housing and Transport, said: “While the continuing excellent success of Cobalt Business Park is great news for the local economy, it does mean that there is currently significant traffic congestion during morning and afternoon peak times.
“The improvement scheme is set to reduce delays and improve journey times for all road users, as well as supporting the continued occupation of the business park. Without these improvements, further growth of the park to offer more jobs and opportunities for people will undoubtedly lead to increased traffic queues in future.”
The project, which starts in late October this year and is due for completion in early 2018, includes:
- Widening the Holystone Interchange Roundabout and all approaches, making the junction safer and more efficient for all road users.
- Constructing an additional westbound carriageway on the A191 from the Cobalt Northern Access Roundabout to the Holystone Interchange, allowing two lanes in both directions.
- Widening the road into Cobalt Business Park from the Cobalt Northern Access Roundabout to provide two southbound lanes.
- Improving pedestrian crossing facilities at the A191 Holyfields Roundabout.
- Making it safer and easier for vehicles to access West Allotment via Benton Road from the A191 by extending the existing right turn pocket and introducing a splitter island to protect turning vehicles.
The Holystone Interchange Improvement Scheme is being delivered for North Tyneside Council by its partner Capita. It aims to reduce delays, improve public transport journey times and support the continued occupation of the business park.
The scheme is part of a wider programme of investment, worth around £150 million, to make roads safer, speed up journey times and help people get to and from work – supporting continuing growth of the borough’s economy with more jobs and opportunities for residents.
If you have any queries during the project, please email: roads@northtyneside.gov.uk or Tel: (0191) 643 6500.
To subscribe to a regular e-bulletin about the project, email roads@northtyneside.gov.uk and put ‘Holystone’ in the subject of the email.
Notes to editors:
Cobalt Business Park is the UK's largest commercial office park, currently employing over 14,000 people. Employment growth at Cobalt until now has been substantial with an average increase of approximately 1,000 staff per annum employed on the business park. Without investment into the local highway network to address the current and future rush hour traffic, employment growth is likely to slow. The scheme will encourage businesses to relocate to Cobalt and encourage existing Cobalt employers to keep their current business operations at the business park.
During peak periods, increased journey times can result in operational difficulties for several bus services that operate within the park. The scheme will remove these sources of delay.
There are currently around 8,000 vehicle trips travelling to Cobalt Business Park on a daily basis, via five access routes. The Cobalt Northern Access Roundabout is used for almost half of these trips, becoming congested at peak times and causing delays. Following full occupation of the park, it is anticipated that the total number of daily vehicle trips will increase substantially. Without the improvement scheme, this will significantly increase congestion and journey times.
Capita Local Government, part of Capita plc, is dedicated to delivering outsourcing and professional services to the local government market and responsible for operating all of Capita's major local government and education partnerships. Employing over 8,000 people, Capita Local Government delivers a wide range of specialist services, including customer management, property development and regulatory services, educational transformation and support services and back office processing. Capita Local Government can also draw on specialist capabilities, such as ICT, HR and payroll from across the wider Capita group, to ensure the very best market knowledge and outcomes are achieved for customers.
In November 2012 the company entered into a partnership with North Tyneside Council to deliver a range of technical services: engineering; property; planning; building control and public protection.
ENDS