Work starts on £16m Stafford relief road in bid to ease town's congestion
Preliminary work has started on a £16 million relief road to ease Stafford's traffic congestion.
Engineers began assessments at the site of the proposed western access route this week. A planning application, is due to be submitted next spring, say county bosses.
The road aims to cut congestion around the railway station and the Chell Road area by linking the A518 Newport Road at Castlefields with the A34 at Foregate Street.
The route is included in an £80m investment for Staffordshire, which was announced in July.
The Government said the money would be invested in new roads, business sites and training facilities.
A consultation into the revived route was initially carried out in December 2009 but the project was postponed by the Government the following year due to spending cuts. It comes as another £4m will go towards a new roundabout junction on the A34 to improve access to a new £300m power station in Meaford, near Stafford.
A report outlining progress on the scheme was being presented to the county council's cabinet today.
Stafford borough chiefs have said the road will help reach the target of building 7,000 homes and creating 90 areas of employment in the coming years.
