Tuesday 22 March is set to be a big day for residents and motorists who live in and travel through Gedling as Colliery Way, formerly known as the Gedling Access Road, will officially open to traffic.
The £49 million road will link the A612 with Mapperley Plains and will improve journey times, reduce congestion through Gedling Village and bring new homes, jobs and businesses to the area. D2N2 LEP supported the project with a £10.8 million investment from the Local Growth Fund.
Works on the 3.8km of new road began in January 2020 and construction teams have since moved 512,000 cubic metres of earth, equivalent to 204 Olympic swimming pools, laid 45,816 tonnes of tarmac and installed 30 kilometres of drainage pipes and cable ducts.
The scheme is also set to benefit the environment, with 53,000 new trees being planted across the site, and ecological measures including seven badger tunnels, six amphibian crossings and seven bat hop-overs being constructed.
Traffic will be able to use the new road from midday on 22 March.
Much more than a new road
Councillor Ben Bradley MP, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “The Gedling Access Road has been in the pipeline for over 50 years and so I am extremely proud that we have delivered this project for the benefit for residents and motorists, not just in Gedling, but in the wider Nottinghamshire also.
“Colliery Way is much more than just a new road – it will provide access to new high-quality, affordable homes to help people get on the property ladder and will bring about bring about journey time savings and other safety and efficiency benefits worth at least £73 million.
“Our ambition is to create a healthier, more prosperous and greener Nottinghamshire, and the opening of Colliery Way is one piece in the puzzle towards achieving this. Better links to Gedling Country Park thanks to the scheme will encourage more people to walk and cycle, the new link between two key road corridors will boost business in the area and increasing woodland in the area by 40% will improve habitats for wildlife and help green spaces to thrive.”
Will Morlidge, Interim Chief Executive Officer at D2N2 LEP said: “It’s great to see Colliery Way ready to open to the public – high quality and reliable infrastructure is critical to giving businesses the confidence to invest in our area and therefore create further opportunities for the whole region to enjoy.
“Connectivity is the backbone of the D2N2 region, and we are proud to have invested £10.8 million into the road’s construction.”
