Buckingham Group has been appointed to complete a package of traffic improvement schemes in Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, including the completion of Chipping Warden relief road
The A361, which runs through Chipping Warden, is the approved route for construction traffic to access one of HS2’s main construction sites in Northamptonshire, located just to the north of Chipping Warden.
The relief road will remove the need for construction traffic and through traffic to travel through Chipping Warden, reducing the number of vehicles in the village centre Chipping Warden, and improving air quality, noise levels and road safety. The new route will be a permanent feature so the village will continue to benefit once HS2 is completed.
Uma Shanker, HS2 Ltd’s area project director, said: “The Chipping Warden relief road project is important to local residents, and we’re really pleased to welcome Buckingham Group on board to deliver this piece of work.
“We have worked closely with Northamptonshire County Council on this initiative, and it will create a positive legacy for the local area. We’re committed to continuing to work in partnership and see this project come to life to benefit the whole community.”
Jason Smithers, County Council cabinet member for transport, highways and environment, said: “The village of Chipping Warden has been in need of a relief road for many years but with the associated traffic with the construction of HS2 this is now even more necessary.
“Although the bypass has been a priority for the County Council it had been very difficult to obtain the funding required. We are pleased that work on the project can now re-start.”
Simon Hyams, Buckingham Group Ltd construction director (HS2), said: “We are naturally delighted to have secured this strategically important project that will serve the requirements of HS2 and leave a lasting legacy of improvements in terms of road safety, air quality and reduced traffic congestion for the local community.”
HS2 is expected to generate around £92bn in benefits to the UK economy as a whole. The new railway will take intercity trains off the existing lines, create more space for extra commuter trains and take lorries off the road as freight moves to rail. Work is progressing across Phase One, with over 250 work locations, supporting 9,000 jobs and opportunities for 2,000 businesses.
A 400m relief road won’t solve the bottleneck called the A361. There has been a need for a full A361 Dual carriageway bypass for more than 20 years. Anyone who uses the road knows this. Every year more HGV vehicles mean the journey between Banbury and Daventry takes around 15 minutes longer than in 2000. I hope the few residents of Chipping Warden who accepted a poor and selfish traffic improvement measure continue to be stuck behind a slow HGV, just like the rest of us.