A MAJOR project to reduce bus journey times by creating a new exit from St Margaret’s Bus Station onto the city’s inner ring road has reached its latest stage.
The project, which began earlier this year, is installing a new exit slip road from the front of the bus station onto Burleys Way itself, shortening journeys by about six minutes on average.
New traffic islands are also being built on Burleys Way, along with new footpaths, crossing point and guard rails along the front of the bus station itself. There will also be some road widening on Burleys Way.
As part of the project, one lane of Burleys Way westbound will be closed to traffic at night until Monday, August 10, to allow completion of the new exit slip road from the bus station.
Resurfacing of Burleys Way will be carried out during night closures from August 6 to 8, between 7.30pm and 6am. Burleys Way will be closed westbound from Abbey Street to St Margaret’s Way, with diversions in place for buses and other traffic.
The scheme is costing £750,000 and is funded from the Government’s National Productivity Investment Fund under its Bus Pinch Points project.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “This project will ensure that passengers using St Margaret’s Bus Station will be able to benefit from the new slip road layout, which makes much more sense than the previous route buses had to take to exit.
“The bus station handles up to 600 buses per day, which is a considerable volume of traffic. Creating a more direct route will save journey time, reduce traffic congestion and simplify the process for vehicles leaving the bus station.
“The most disruptive part of this work is being carried out overnight to minimise its impact on the rest of the road system.”
St Margaret’s Bus Station has been at the centre of the city’s public transport system since 1985, and was last given a major refurbishment in 2007.
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