Official opening to take place next week for new route to bypass Kings Dyke level crossing

The official opening of a long-campaigned for new route to bypass Kings Dyke level crossing is being held on July 11.

The road, which has been more than fifty years of campaign efforts by former Fenland District Council councillor Ralph Butcher, will be opened to drivers to ease traffic calming measures.

The new road has been designed to loop round and bypass the original level crossing, with a new bridge built over the railway, meaning traffic can now travel unhindered in both directions.

This long-awaited re-opening of the A605 from Peterborough to Whittlesey will come as a huge relief for motorists who have endured long delays in the past every time a train went through the old level crossing.

It comes as work at Kings Dyke level crossing has been beset with funding problems and delays.

Original contractor Keir had been expected to complete the project in late 2020 for £13.6 million, with money coming partly from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA).

In October 2018, former Metro Mayor, James Palmer, approved a budget increase of £16.4 million but just months later Keir’s estimated costs soared to £39 million.

The contract with Keir was terminated in 2019 and the work taken over by Jones Bros Civil Engineering, pushing the completion date into 2022.

The official opening ceremony next week will be attended by local dignitaries who will open the new road and bridge with a banner cutting and various speeches.

These will include councillor Stephen Ferguson, chairman of Cambridgeshire County Council, councillor Alex Beckett, chair of Highways and Transport at Cambridgeshire County Council and vice-chair councillor Neil Shailer, Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough

Former councillor Butcher and his family will also be in attendance at the ceremony next week, and once open the road will officially become ‘The Ralph Butcher Causeway’.

By Robert Alexander, Local Democracy Reporter.