MOTORISTS are being warned about a series of overnight road closures that will be taking place on Leicester’s busy inner ring road from later this week.
A stretch of Tigers Way between Welford Road and Lancaster Road will be closed in one direction only – towards St George’s Way – between 7pm and 6am from Sunday 8th March.
Clearly signed diversions will in place be via Welford Road, University Road and Regent Road. Outbound traffic will be unaffected.
The overnight closures will be in place five nights a week and are expected to last for up to four weeks. This is to allow work to be carried to remodel the crossing at the junction of Lancaster Road as part of a major highway improvement scheme.
Leicester City Council is creating a new two-way cycle lane from the junction of Victoria Park Road and Queens Road, across Victoria Park, along the full length of Lancaster Road and onto Nelson Mandela Park before linking with the recently completed cycle lane on Welford Road.
The new 1.3km route will provide a direct link to the recently completed cycle track on Welford Road, creating a safer and continuous route for cyclists to and from the city centre.
Work on the scheme began last July and is due to be complete by the end of May. The new path for cyclists on Victoria Park is now in place, and work to install a new cycle track along Lancaster Road is almost complete. This will feature raised kerbs to offer more protection to cyclists.
The next phase of work will link the Lancaster Road cycle track to Nelson Mandela Park by way of a new parallel crossing for pedestrians and cyclists across Tigers Way.
To further improve safety at this busy crossing, Lancaster Road has been made one-way only between De Montfort Street and Tigers Way. Traffic can no longer turn left into Lancaster Road from the inner ring road, and the right turn-out has also been removed.
Work to improve the crossing is due to be complete by the end of April, with the overall scheme due to be complete by early summer.
Cllr Adam Clarke, deputy city mayor and executive lead on environment and transportation, said: “This is an important scheme that will help make Lancaster Road safer and more attractive for cyclists and pedestrians and provide a direct route between to Clarendon Park and the University of Leicester to the city centre.
“It will complement the major improvements recently completed on London Road and the major investment made elsewhere in and around the city centre as part of the Connecting Leicester programme.
“This is a vital part of our ambitious plans to reduce vehicle emissions, further improve air quality and help address the climate emergency we are facing.”
The junction of Lancaster Road and University Road will be remodelled as part of a wider programme of improvements planned for University Road currently being developed by the University of Leicester and city council.
The Lancaster Road improvement scheme is backed by £950,000 of Government cash from the Transforming Cities Fund.
It is part of the wider Connecting Leicester programme to provide safe and attractive routes for more people to commute by cycle and foot.