More work on theNews way after phase one

WORK to widen a main road from Huddersfield into Halifax has been completed – but more roadworks are on the way.

Improvements between Salterhebble Hill and Shaw Hill is the first part of the £120m A629 improvement programme, funded by the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund.

The work has seen the resurfacing of 3km of road that runs from Salterhebble to the new Shaw Hill junction.

As part of the project, 5,000 tonnes of soil have been removed to widen the highway to four lanes.

Two junctions have been remodelled and 6,000 soil bags and seven million seeds have been used to help create a ‘living wall.’

Pedestrian and cycle lanes have also been included, making for safer journeys.

The road is a main route into Halifax and is used by people from Huddersfield heading to Calderdale Royal Hospital at Salterhebble, Halifax.

A Calderdale Council spokesman said the project had been complex.

“As is usual for a project of this complexity, it has not been without its challenges.

“Workers had to contend with the discovery of three uncharted stone arch culverts from the time of the industrial revolution, as well as battling against ‘the Beast from the East’ in one of the harshest winters for some time.”

Now completed, this first project paves the way for further improvements in the next major part of the scheme - the Calder and Hebble junction.

This project will include the demolition of the building on the western side of Salterhebble Hill adjacent to Bankhouse Lane, to create a continuous dual carriageway in both directions through to Elland Wood Bottom and remove the temporary lane merges.

Combined, the upgrades will bring “significant reductions to journey times and massive opportunities for business growth in Calderdale”, according to the council.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Strategy, Clr Barry Collins, said: “The completion of work on Salterhebble Hill is a major milestone in the work to tackle congestion on the A629 between Halifax and Huddersfield.

“The project has been challenging and complex, but I’m pleased that we will now start to see the benefits, with better managed traffic flow and improved facilities for cyclists and pedestrians.”

Clr Kim Groves, chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: “The Salterhebble improvements are part of what is currently the largest scheme in our West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund programme, to which we have already committed around £120m of investment.

“The five-phase A629 scheme will help reduce congestion, improve journey times, boost public transport use and improve cycling and walking conditions along the key route between the towns of Halifax, in Calderdale, and Huddersfield, in Kirklees.

“Salterhebble has thrown up interesting challenges and innovative solutions such as the new vertical garden, sowed with 7 million seeds, which will absorb harmful carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.”