Nearly 4.5 million journeys made on UK city Carlisle’s new road in first year

Nearly 4.5 million journeys have been made on a northern England city’s key new road in its first year – prompting praise for its impact on reducing city centre traffic. Traffic counters positioned on the Carlisle Northern Development Route (the A689 which runs from Junction 44 of the M6 to the A595 Wigton Road) have shown that since the road opened on 14 February 2012, an estimated 4.416 million vehicles have been counted crossing its most popular point - the new bridge over the River Eden. This equates to
February 15, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Nearly 4.5 million journeys have been made on a northern England city’s key new road in its first year – prompting praise for its impact on reducing city centre traffic.

Traffic counters positioned on the Carlisle Northern Development Route (the A689 which runs from Junction 44 of the M6 to the A595 Wigton Road) have shown that since the road opened on 14 February 2012, an estimated 4.416 million vehicles have been counted crossing its most popular point - the new bridge over the River Eden.

This equates to an average of 12,100 vehicles (including 880 HGVs) a day using this part of the road.

The new 8.25km (5.13 mile) road, built as part of a 30-year, US$273.03 million (£176m) PFI-funded contract with Connect Roads, part of 1146 Balfour Beatty, is also said to be having a positive impact on reducing traffic flows through the centre of Carlisle. Traffic counters positioned on Eden Bridge on the A7 in the city centre are registering over three million fewer vehicles a year now compared with before the road opened.

Cumbria County Council says the benefit that the road has brought to businesses is clear as HGVs are not only registered as using the road, but also the number of HGVs in the city centre has dropped. Eden Bridge, for example, used to register 850,000 HGVs crossing it in a year before CNDR opened, but is now showing 538,000 HGVs. Other city centre areas indicate the number of HGVs dropping by around a half.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New road reduces Carlisle congestion by 20%
    May 11, 2012
    Carlisle, in north-west England, has seen as 20% reduction in congestion since the opening of the city’s US$284million (£176m) Northern Development Route in February this year. Around 10,000 vehicles a day are using the new road, which is broadly in line with the predictions made by highways engineers when building a case to construct a new route connecting the A595 with the M6 around the western flank of the city. Traffic counters positioned on the new road show an average of 9,583 vehicles a day along the
    Read More
  • The UK’s first PFI road project opens
    May 18, 2012
    A new bypass around Carlisle in North West England has opened to the public two months ahead of schedule. The Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR) starts from the Wigton Road (A595) to the south west of Carlisle, follows a route around the west of the city crossing the River Eden on a new bridge near Stainton and the West Coast Main Line on a new two-lane bridge constructed at Kingmoor. The road layout allows easier access to West Cumbria from the roundabout at Junction 44 of the M6 rather than havin
    Read More
  • New route slashes HGV Carlisle city centre through traffic by over third
    August 17, 2012
    The number of Heavy Goods Vehicles travelling through Carlisle’s city centre is estimated to have been reduced by more than a third since the new multi-million euro Carlisle Northern Development Route opened in February 2012.
    Read More
  • Carlisle Northern Development Route opens
    April 24, 2012
    A new multi-million pound road which stops motorists having to travel through the centre of Carlisle in North West England has opened to the public two months ahead of schedule. The new Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR) starts from the Wigton Road (A595) to the south west of Carlisle, follows a route around the west of the city crossing the River Eden on a new bridge near Stainton and the West Coast Main Line on a new two-lane bridge constructed at Kingmoor.
    Read More

Highlighted Content