£5m RING ROAD WORK GETS THE GO-AHEAD

“PLEASE bear with us - these roadworks will make a massive difference.”

That’s the plea from a councillor as the green light was given to undertake a £5m project to improve part of Coventry ring road.

As reported, the work will take place on the raised section of the Swanswell Viaduct, between junctions 2 and 4.

And it’s hoped the works will reduce the accident risk in that area.

At a virtual meeting, Coventry City Council’s Cabinet was asked to accept a £5m government grant to refurbish the Swanswell Viaduct.

A report put before councillors states that some of the viaduct refurbishment project was carried out and completed in 2018 but that other parts of the work are yet to be carried out. Thanks to a successful bid for government funding, this can now go ahead.

The report outlines what work is yet to be done: “The bridge decks including slip roads need to be waterproofed to prevent deterioration from the use of de-icing salts.

“Following waterproofing the road surface will need to be replaced. This will have the benefit of reducing on-going maintenance costs.”

Presenting the report to Cabinet, Cllr Patricia Hetherton, Cabinet member for city services, said: “I recently saw a video of the building of the ring road in the 1970s and I wonder what we would ever do without it. It’s the hub of our road network.

“We have seen from the other improvements what a difference that has made, in terms of maintaining and upgrading and reducing accident risk.

“I am sorry for residents when [roadworks] inconvenience them but please bear with us as it will make a massive difference.”

Head of Highways Neil Cowper said it’s a “great opportunity” to continue the upgrade that was carried out in 2017 to 2018.

“The work we did there was such a visual part, it was largely appreciated by residents and we will carry that theme into phase two,” he added.

“We will start as quickly as we can - it may be the month after, but we have to complete it before City of Culture.”