Council backs £23m Rugby Road improvements

Warwickshire County Council (WCC) has backed plans for a £23m scheme to reduce congestion around Rugby.

The work will improve the area around the A426 and WCC said that it wants to improve bus journey times and provide better facilities for cyclists and pedestrians.

At a meeting on Friday 27 January, the WCC Cabinet gave approval for its officers to produce a business case for the delivery of a scheme to improve the A426/A4071 – Avon Mill/Hunters Lane.

Work on the area, which the council has dubbed a “traffic hotspot”, is unlikely to begin before the summer of 2024.

The scheme will enlarge the existing Avon Mill roundabout and widen its approaches and exits. It will create a roundabout at A426 Newbold Road/Hunters Lane to replace the existing priority junction, and construct a short length of dual carriageway to connect these two roundabouts.

As we as a council strive to ensure that our residents are supported by excellent transport infrastructure, we remain ever mindful that such infrastructure must have vision beyond simply car travel

– Councillor Wallace Redford

The council also intends to provide a new segregated foot/cycleway and bridge, which will connect to enhanced crossing facilities on the A426 Leicester Road and provide safe access to Avon Valley School

WCC said that the upgrade would reduce the number of cars using the Mill Road tunnel, Murray Road, and the surrounding residential streets, thus reducing congestion in the area.

It predicts that the work should be completed in 2026.

The council hopes that the Department for Transport will contribute £17.873m to the roadworks, while the remaining money would come from the council’s own funds.

Councillor Wallace Redford, WCC’s Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning, said: “As we as a council strive to ensure that our residents are supported by excellent transport infrastructure, we remain ever mindful that such infrastructure must have vision beyond simply car travel.

“As you can see from our plans for the A426/A4071 – Avon Mill/Hunters Lane improvement scheme, at its heart is a commitment to making active travel more possible and desirable, whilst also improving the access and reliability of the town’s bus services in a vibrant and expanding part of Rugby. I look forward to seeing this scheme become a reality over the coming years.”