MULTI-MILLION pound schemes to improve two notorious bottlenecks have moved a step closer.

Major changes are planned to Hard Ings Road in Keighley and the junction of Harrogate Road and New Line in Greengates, Bradford.

Now Bradford Council has agreed to legal orders which mean they can make alterations to surrounding roads and driveways without the landowners’ permission if necessary.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, portfolio holder for regeneration, planning and transport, welcomed the progress, saying: “Both projects are vital to improving traffic in Bradford and Keighley.”

Both schemes are being funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s £1bn West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund.

Bradford Council’s Executive had already approved compulsory purchase orders for both schemes, allowing the authority to forcibly buy up any land it needed for the projects even if landowners refuse to sell up.

Yesterday, the Executive also approved side roads orders, which allow the authority to stop up existing side roads or private access to properties and create new ones.

The meeting heard the council was working towards striking deals with landowners to acquire the land it needed.

But the orders gave the transport fund the security it needed to ensure the work goes ahead if any negotiations break down, the meeting heard.

Council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe said: “Obviously, this is a last resort.”

The orders will also need to be approved by the Government.

Under the £7m improvement plans for the A650 Hard Ings Road, a stretch would be turned into a dual carriageway.

Hard Ings Road carries an average of 34,000 vehicles each weekday, with about 2,500 at peak times.

The section under discussion links two parts which are already dual carriageway.

The work has a target completion date of no later than 2019-20, although it could be in place earlier than this.

The £6.8 million scheme at Greengates aims to remodel the busy crossroads where Harrogate Road, one of the main routes into Bradford, meets New Line.

The junction work is being funded mainly by the transport fund, with around £2m coming from a housing developer.

Gridlock around the junction has been branded “intolerable” by local councillors.