Another busy year of major infrastructure and highways works

Works on a variety of major infrastructure projects and highways schemes, across the county, have continued at pace over the past 12 months.

Councillor Marc Bayliss, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills, said: "We’ve seen some fantastic milestones achieved this year, including the completion of the works on the A38/A4104 roundabout near Upton-upon-Severn and sections of the Kepax Bridge beginning to be lifted into place.

“We’ve also seen £43 million worth of funding committed to improving the A38 in Bromsgrove and we have progressed the Shrub Hill Quarter and Redditch Station.

“I’d like to thank everyone involved in these important projects, for their hard work and dedication, keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing further achievements next year.”

As well as large scale improvement projects, major investment was announced in the county’s budget, set in February 2023, to help improve and maintain roads and footpaths.

Councillor Mike Rouse, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport, said: “In 2023, we’ve continued our investment into protecting and enhancing Worcestershire’s highways and footways. In total, over 120 miles of roads were treated as part of our surface dressing programme, and more than 18 miles of roads and 13 miles of paths have been resurfaced.

“We have also continued to make improvements to the active travel network across Worcestershire, which included the launch of a new Active Travel Stakeholder Group.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the staff who have worked tirelessly on our highways over the past 12 months.”

In 2023, a number of key milestones have been achieved.

The brand-new A38/A4104 roundabout near Upton-upon-Severn was completed in February, providing benefits to motorists, pedestrian, cyclists and even local wildlife.

In March, the Austcliffe Cast Iron Footbridge near the village of Caunsall won a national award. The bridge, which was extensively restored in 2022, came out top in the New Life category at the 2023 Bridge Awards.

The first Active Travel Stakeholder Group took place in May, bringing together over 30 participants from various backgrounds, representing groups and organisations from across the county.

Over in Worcester, Kepax Bridge began to really take shape this year. All underground works were completed in the summer, with structures beginning to rise from the foundations. Bridge sections started arriving on site in October, with bridge lifts now underway.

In June, works were completed on the refurbishment of Porters Mill Canal Bridge. The bridge is a historic Grade-II structure, built in 1771 to cross the Droitwich Barge Canal to link to Droitwich Spa and the River Severn at Hawford. The second Worcestershire on Demand bus service launched this month in Malvern, following the launch of the service in Bromsgrove in 2021. The service offers people the opportunity to travel on demand rather than using fixed timetables and routes.

In July, works started on phase 5 of the Future High Street Fund improvements in Worcester City Centre. These works focus on upgrading public space on Foregate Street.

In August, £43million funding was announced for the A38 Bromsgrove Route Enhancement Programme works. The funding will be used to further tackle congestion, improve local journey times, encourage active travel and support new jobs and homes. The project will see improvements at key junctions together with localised road widening, and enhanced cycling facilities. This will be the third phase of works, following improvements already made at junction 4 of the M5, Barley Mow Lane, M42 Junction 1 and a range of crossing improvements along the corridor.

A celebratory event was held at Worcestershire Parkway Railway Station in September, where it was revealed that passenger numbers are exceeding expectations. More than 540,000 journeys had taken place in the space of 12 months.

In October, Worcestershire County Council’s Cabinet gave the green light to advance the next phase of development of the Shrub Hill Quarter in Worcester. The decision gave the go ahead to enter into a funding agreement with Worcester City Council to deliver the Towns Fund Shrub Hill projects. These works include improvements to public space from Shrub Hill Road to Pheasant Street, including a new shared use link providing a connection between the Shrub Hill Railway Station to the city centre through St Martins Quarter, and the refurbishment of Isaac Maddox House as an Enterprise Centre.
 
For more information on all the Council’s major projects and highways work, visit the Major Project webpages.