£2m roadworks scheme will last for six months
One of the busiest routes into Stafford is to be widened and resurfaced as part of a £2 million roadworks scheme lasting six months.
One of the busiest routes into Stafford is to be widened and resurfaced as part of a £2 million roadworks scheme lasting six months.
The work on Queensway from later this month, which is expected to cause chaos in the town, is being carried out to serve the new St George's Park housing development.
A total of 250 houses and 120 apartments are being built on the site of the former St George's psychiatric hospital.
As part of the scheme, a section of Queensway will be widened to create additional lanes so motorists can turn into the new housing estate as well as Kingsmead car park. A new signal-controlled junction will be installed on the A34 for traffic entering and leaving the car park.
And a link road will lead into the housing estate while a bridge will be built over Pearl Brook.
A footpath and cycle route will link in to Gaol Square, the town centre, nature reserve and housing development.
Preparation work will start next Tuesday with the main work getting under way on May 28.
It is expected to finish around the end of November.
Staffordshire county councillor Mike Maryon, cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: "This is vital to supporting our local economy during challenging financial times. However, it is a big project and, as with all large schemes, it will be quite disruptive. I would like to urge people working in, living in and visiting Stafford town centre to be patient while this vital programme is carried out. The team will do all it can to keep disruption to an absolute minimum, working weekends where necessary to get the job done as efficiently and effectively as possible."
But Councillor William Simpson, who represents the Common ward on Stafford Borough Council, said: "It could cause real problems because the roads in Stafford are already congested at the moment."
The section of Queensway that is being widened and resurfaced is from Gaol Square to the Kingsmead car park access. The overall development is likely to be finished by November, and the work will be funded by developer Bovis Homes.
Bovis Homes's engineering director Chris O'Connor said: "We are proud to be building in Stafford."
