A REVAMP of a busy Leicester road is nearly complete, with the final phase of resurfacing work due to begin next week.
Leicester City Council has been carrying out an extensive programme of improvements to Abbey Gate, in the Fosse area of the city, to improve the road for walkers, wheelers and cyclists.
A new two-way cycle track has been created and footpaths improved along the length of the road.
Now work to resurface the main carriageway is due to be carried out as the final phase of the £1.3million highway improvement scheme.
The road will be closed to all traffic on Sunday 23 March, between 9am and 4pm, while the road surface is prepared for new tarmac.
Resurfacing work will then be carried out over four nights from Monday 24 March. The road will be closed to traffic between 7pm and 5am. Overnight working has been arranged to help minimise disruption. Full vehicle access will be maintained during the day and businesses will remain open as normal during the works.
A short, well signposted diversion will be in place during the roadworks,
Abbey Gate is expected to reopen to all traffic from 5am on Friday 28 March.
The Abbey Gate improvement scheme will improve the important route for all road users. It will provide a safe and attractive direct route linking new cycleways on the A50, within the Waterside housing development area, to Route 6 of the National Cycle Network at Abbey Park.
Cllr Geoff Whittle, assistant city mayor for environment and transport, said: “This important scheme will help provide a much-improved link to existing infrastructure for people on foot, on bikes or using wheelchairs or other mobility aids, extending the network of people-friendly routes in and around the thriving Waterside neighbourhood”.
“It’s a further example of our commitment to deliver schemes that help make walking, wheeling and cycling the preferred choice for everyday trips for most people and to extend safe and attractive routes into our local neighbourhoods.”
The Abbey Gate is being funded through a mix of Enterprise Zone funding and the Transforming Cities Fund following the city council’s successful bid for £32million of second tranche funding to support improvements to public transport and provide more safer routes for walkers, wheelers and cyclists in the city centre and local neighbourhoods.