Ampthill Road in Bedford to be widened from next week as part of major overhaul

From next week, major improvements works will begin on Ampthill Road which will continue well into autumn.

The road will be widened, creating a second northbound lane between Elstow Road, Kempston and Britannia Road, with improvements for vehicles turning right into side roads off Ampthill Road.

This lane will be for buses and Ultra Low Emission Vehicles, to encourage the use of electric vehicles as they become more common.

As part of this project, air quality monitoring will also be installed.

New electronic message signs will also be installed to provide journey information to drivers, as well as average speed cameras.

To minimise disruption as much as possible, the majority of these works will be done with the road kept open, with lane closures and temporary signals in place to keep traffic moving.

There will be two periods where sections of the road will need to be closed overnight for around two to three weeks at a time for resurfacing work. This is not expected to take place until the autumn.

With the possible impact of winter weather during the later stages of this project, allowance has been made for these works to be complete early next year.

Cllr Charles Royden, portfolio holder for transport and highways, said “As part of the Transporting Bedford project, we are carrying out major improvements works down Bedford High Street, the northern gateway around Clapham Road and now we are set to start works on Ampthill Road.

“We are speaking to major organisations down this road, in particular Bedford Hospital, to ensure we carry out these works with the minimum of disruption and inconvenience."

This project is part of Transporting Bedford - to tackle congestion hotspots in Bedford - and is funded by both Bedford Borough Council and £15.5 million funding from the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP), through the Local Growth Fund.