Mayor Dave Writes: Completed Western Bypass Brings Half-Century Wait to an End

Writing in the Bedford Bulletin, Mayor Dave Hodgson has highlighted some of the economic and social benefts of the now-completed Bedford Western Bypass, following its opening last month. He also looks back briefly at the successful effort to get the final section built and bring to an end over half a century of waiting for a full western bypass for Bedford.

Here's the text of the column, which featured in the May edition of the magazine:

After over half a century of appearing on national and local plans and strategies, Bedford's completed western bypass is now a reality.

I made delivering this project a priority when I became Mayor. With the first phase in place, and with traffic levels growing, the need for the final section linking the A4280 to the west of Biddenham with the A6 at Clapham to the north of the town was clearly overwhelming.

However, there were numerous reasons why it hadn't been delivered over all those decades of planning, and many obstacles stood in the way of getting construction underway. For me, though, a completed bypass was simply essential for all road users, and for Bedford's economy and jobs growth.

So when it became clear that usual processes were not going to get it built, I launched the successful strategy of pursuing Compulsory Purchase Order Proceedings. This broke down the logjam, got all parties to the table negotiating, and the orders were approved.

We also won funding from external sources, minimising the impact of this £18.6 million scheme on local taxpayers, and the project was completed on time and within budget.

The new road now in place means that anyone travelling west or south of Bedford from the North will not need to drive into the town and through its busy junctions at all. And vice-versa, of course!

Of course, this is not a silver bullet for Bedford's congestion problems. We have a historic road network, adapted over time as the town has seen rapid, ongoing growth in traffic levels. But the bypass will help.

It sends a clear message out to investors, making Bedford Borough even more attractive to employers and, crucially, will simply help road users to get into and around Bedford.

Mayor Dave Hodgson