Project to reduce congestion at Nene Parkway moves forward

Funding of £470,000 has been granted to develop the scheme which is being designed to improve traffic flow.

The money from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority will be handed over by Peterborough City Council to its highways partner Skanska to complete a full business case and the design phase of the scheme.

The improvements outlined are:

. Widening of A1260 Nene Parkway northbound to three lanes from Junction 33 (Thorpe Wood Roundabout)

. A three-lane circulatory on Junction 15 (Soke Parkway) between the A1260 Nene Parkway approach and the Bretton Way exit

. Replacement of the pedestrian footbridge over the Nene Parkway (to facilitate the creation of a third northbound lane)

. An extension of the flare on the Thorpe Wood to Junction 15 by approximately 30 metres

. A zebra crossing over Thorpe Wood close to the existing bus stops

. Reconstruction of the footpath between Thorpe Road Bridge and Longthorpe.

The first two stages of the business case have already been completed which identified that the scheme will “unlock congestion,” according to the city council.

It said the project will “improve the capacity and operational performance of the Peterborough parkway system which is crucial to supporting further growth.

“In addition, improvements at Junction 15 are expected to have wider network benefits beyond the parkway system, particularly to the A605 Oundle Road which experiences congestion as vehicles queue back from the northbound on-slip onto the A1260 Nene Parkway (towards Junction 15) during the PM peak hour.”