Road works scheduled as King’s Dyke Level Crossing Replacement scheme set to enter next stage

With all the major structures now completed, the project is poised to enter a vital phase with work on the road connections to start imminently.

The eagerly anticipated scheme to replace the level crossing on the A605 near Whittlesey has reached a key milestone, with contractors set to commence connecting the new road to the existing network.

Contractor Jones Bros is to begin on the western roundabout, before switching to the eastern roundabout in late spring.

As a result, temporary traffic management measures on the road will be necessary for the following periods:

From 10 January, for the first three weeks, three-way traffic lights will be used on the Funtham’s Lane Junction at the western end. These will be operating from Monday morning, 9.30am all the way through the week until 3.30pm on Friday.

After this period, there will be a switch to using two-way traffic lights on the western roundabout, restricted to the hours between 9.30am and 3.30pm each weekday

During this work, the bus stop located at the junction with Funtham’s Lane will be closed and a temporary bus stop will be available approximately 50m to the west

24-hour traffic lights will be set up for a further month while work is carried out on the eastbound side of the carriageway

Work on the western side is scheduled to finish in the first part of the spring, with attention shifting to the eastern side in early summer.

There will be a month-long gap between the western and eastern phases.

To minimise any further disruption, this work has been timed with other highway and nearby development schemes to ensure there are no instances where more than one piece of work is happening on the road at the same time. However, emergency work may be required. If that is the case, we will react wherever possible.

Rhydian Hafal, project manager for Jones Bros, said: “We’ve worked hard to keep traffic management to an absolute minimum, however, with highways projects like this, some disruption is inevitable.

“We are aiming to open the new bridge and divert the A605 in that direction as soon as possible, so we can carry out remaining tie-in works without traffic lights.

“We will be monitoring how the temporary traffic lights affect vehicle movement closely, in particular around the level crossing, and will look to guarantee there is no danger of a vehicle being caught on the crossing itself.”

Cllr Peter McDonald, chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “The team has worked hard not to close the road completely and whilst this work will be carried out using traffic lights, we understand the disruption it will cause which is why we want to give people as much notice as possible.

“We’ve come to the point in the project where much of the work offline has been completed so we need to move to the next phase, and I would urge everyone to allow extra time and plan their journeys.

“We are also aware of the flood risk if nearby North Bank Road is closed due to flooding along the River Nene, and I’d like to reassure residents we have contingencies in place and could potentially amend our traffic management slightly if needed.”

The King’s Dyke transport scheme is progressing well and on track to open to traffic by the end of 2022.