£5.1 million ‘Southern Gateway Project’ Bid to be made to Central Government

Bedford Borough Council is hoping to ease congestion on Bedford's busy Ampthill Road with a bid for £5.1 million of funding to enable improvements to the road to be made.

Bedford Borough Council has submitted an application to the South East Midland Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) to be included in their bid for government funding for transport improvements.

The Ampthill Road corridor is one of the busiest routes into Bedford; it serves businesses and residential areas as well as the Interchange Retail Park. In addition it links the town with the A421 and provides the route to and from the town's main Park and Ride facility, as well as access to Bedford Hospital.

The purpose of the £5.1 million Southern Gateway Project is to improve journey time and reliability on this key corridor into and out of Bedford, between the A6/A421 junction and Prebend Street. Improvement measures proposed include enhanced signals and junctions which can respond better to heavy traffic; information systems that report on current traffic conditions; improved capacity for vehicles at key junctions along the route; as well as improved access and traffic management at the Interchange Retail Park.

Deputy Mayor and Portfolio Holder for Environment Councillor Charles Royden said:

'Although we have no guarantees at this point we are delighted that SEMLEP have agreed the inclusion of plans in their bid to the government.'

'The £5.1 million Southern Gateway Project will offer us the chance to make vital improvements to an area of Bedford that struggles with congestion and heavy traffic.'

Following Bedford Borough Council's successful application a bid will be made to the government by SEMLEP in autumn 2016 for a share of an allocated £1.8 billion in government funding.

Full details on the SEMLEP bid to government should be available in early August 2016, with successful projects being notified in early 2017.