Plans for £95m road improvement scheme
A £95m scheme to improve travel between Bradford, Brighouse and Huddersfield will be discussed by an investment committee next week.
Plans for the A641 Bradford/Huddersfield Corridor scheme were first proposed in 2016, and would see major improvements made on a route that currently carries 38,000 vehicles per day.
The changes will include road widening and signal works at the A641 junction with Huddersfield Road in Wyke, a new cycling greenway between Wyke and Brighouse, and new road links in and around Brighouse town centre.
The scheme will be discussed by members of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Investment Committee at an online meeting when members will be asked to move the project to the next stage - the production of an outline business case.
Overall the scheme is expected to cost £95.1m, £75.5m of which will be funded by the Combined Authority.
Even if the project arrives on time, it is not likely to be completed until December 2025.
Other proposals included in the scheme include a new two-way link between Bradford Road and Birkby Lane, bypassing the main junction, public realm improvements on Commercial Street and Market Street in Brighouse town centre, improved pedestrian links between the town centre and Brighouse Rail Station and a new highway link between the A643 and A644 Wakefield Road.
The committee will be asked to grant £1.335m to begin the outline business case.
A report going to the committee says: “The A641 forms part of the Key Route Network between Huddersfield and Bradford, carrying 38,000 vehicles per day.
“It also provides an essential link from Brighouse to surrounding centres and the M62 J25.”
Explaining the need for the works, the report says there are “several transport related issues along the corridor” including slow and unreliable bus journey times, limiting the attractiveness and usage of bus travel, a “car dominated “highway network, poor air quality, congestion, “limited and unattractive” pedestrian and cyclist facilities and crossings and poor connectivity between Brighouse town centre and the town’s rail station.
It says the scheme “seeks to address the issues identified with anticipation to improve journey times and journey reliability, and to improve accessibility and connectivity to encourage multi modal travel.
“As a result, the scheme will reduce congestion levels, contributing to carbon reduction, air quality improvements, and the safeguarding of natural environments.”
It will also help “unlock” land to allow up to 3,200 houses to be built near Brighouse.
The report adds: “The proposed interventions and desired outcomes support several national, regional, and local transport policies and strategies including the UK Industrial Strategy, Clean Growth Strategy, the Leeds City Region Strategic Economic Plan, the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund, and the respective local plans of Calderdale and Kirklees.”