Independent professional services company Turner & Townsend has been appointed by Calderdale Council to provide a construction manageent team on the upgrade of the A629 Phase 1b between Calderdale and Halifax.
The A629 Corridor Improvement Project, which is funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority, is based on a strategy to improve multi-modal transport links between Calderdale and Kirklees and will be undertaken in phases. The first, Phase 1a was completed early in 2019 and Phase 1b, which is a Design and Build Contract, commenced in December 2020 and is set to complete in December 2022. The project includes a new canal bridge structure, and road widening with an overall project estimate of £27.8M.
This section of the A629 within Phase 1b carries approximately 20,000 vehicles in each direction on an average day and is the principal route into Halifax from the south and M62 motorway network. The section also includes a major junction with both the A6026 Wakefield Road and B6112 Stainland Road. Maintaining traffic flows during the works will be critical to the success of the project.
The works involve the construction of a new highway bridge over the Calder and Hebble Navigation, repairs and widening to an existing highway bridge over Hebble Brook, carriageway widening with associated retaining structures, new/reconfigured highway drainage, new/reconfigured signal junctions, upgraded lighting/signing and significant diversions of utility apparatus.
Clare Wood, Director, Infrastructure Yorkshire and North East, at Turner & Townsend, said: “The A629 Corridor Improvement Project will enhance transport links between Calderdale and Kirklees, but it also forms part of a wider programme that will have a profound effect on regional connectivity for businesses and communities in West Yorkshire. We are delighted to bring our expertise and enthusiasm to this scheme that will make such a positive impact on the surrounding area for years to come.”
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Strategy, Cllr Jane Scullion, said: “Phase 1b of the A629 project represents the largest civil engineering project Calderdale will have undertaken for several decades. It will see the landscape around the Calder and Hebble junction completely transformed.” The scheme is being funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund. The fund is part of the Leeds City Region Growth Deal – a £1 billion package of Government investment through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.
