Ring road new look to take two months to complete

WORK is set to last another two months on the ring road - and it will also have a new look.

Repairs to the Swanswell Viaduct started last June, but despite the recent snow and weather chaos, Coventry City Council have said it will be finished in time for Motofest this year.

More than £6million was allocated to repair the stretch known as the Swanswell Viaduct between junctions one (Foleshill Road) and junction three (Sky Blue Way/Gosford Street).

The work being carried out between junctions one and three is the largest since the ring road was first built.

This first phase of work has been upgrading the parapets and replacing the existing waterproofing, surfacing, movement joints and fascia panels.

Coventry City Council has secured £5.5million of funding from the Department for Transport for the first phase of the work and will contribute £550,000 from local funds.

Just before work began, a Coventry City Council spokesman said: “Swanswell Viaduct forms almost a third of Coventry’s Ring Road extending from the Foleshill Road to almost the London Road.

“The structure was built in the 1960s and certain elements need work to bring them up to standard.”

The urgency of the work was underlined in a cabinet report which said: “Further deterioration of the structure could result in a closure or having lane closures or weight restrictions applied between junctions one and four, causing significant congestion across the city.”

The council have reassured us that work will be finished in time for one of the biggest events in Coventry’s calendar.

A spokesman added: “Work is on track and it is due to be completed for Motofest on 2/3 June.”

We’ve also been given a glimpse of what the new geometric panels will look like on the side of the ring road.

Blocks of different shades of grey make up the pattern on the side of the concrete viaduct along the stretch between Foleshill and Sky Blue Way.