Station roadworks project to enter next phase

The next phase of roadworks to improve traffic flows outside Shrewsbury railway station will begin at the end of March, Shropshire Council has announced.

Work on the gyratory will require the temporary closure of Cross Street between its junctions with Coton Hill and Castle Foregate and will take about six weeks to complete.

A diversion will be in place during the closure and temporary traffic lights will be used to manage traffic at the Castle Foregate, Smithfield Road and Castle Gates junction.

The improvements are expected to begin on 27 March after the work to open the junction at Chester Street and Smithfield Road to two-way traffic is completed.

This phase will include Cross Street footway being repaved and a new footway, on the southern side of the road, underneath the railway tunnel.

The authority said Cross Street's closure would allow improvements to be made "as quickly as possible" as well as ensuring public and workforce safety.

The phase is part of a wider "station quarter" project overseen by Shropshire Council, which is funded by the government, and due to be finished by the summer.

The work will mean traffic from Ellesmere Road will be able to travel to Smithfield Road to turn left or right, without the need to drive directly past the railway station.

Drivers heading southbound from St Michaels Street will still be able to drive past the station to access Castle Gates or Smithfield Road.

Northbound traffic from Smithfield Road that ordinarily turns left or right on to Castle Foregate at the end of Cross Street, will need to follow a diversion.

The council acknowledged congestion was "likely" and said it would be monitored, as will other planned routes "to keep main routes free".

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