WORK on the long-awaited £10.3 million improvements to Hard Ings Road in Keighley will begin on Tuesday.

Motorists face potential traffic hell for the next 12 months as contractors widen the bottleneck stretch of the Aire Valley road between Beechcliffe and Stockbridge.

But they have been promised that the result will be quicker journey times for drivers travelling either along the Aire Valley or around Keighley itself, as well as cleaner air.

The ambitious project is being spearheaded by Bradford Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and receiving funding through the £1bn West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund.

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The Hard Ings Road Improvement Scheme is designed to reduce journey times and cut delays as well as improve air quality for road users and residents alike.

Designers say it will also allow greater control over the flow of traffic through this congested part of the town.

The scheme’s improvements include:

• widening the road to two lanes in each direction

• a new additional lane for traffic that is approaching the Beechcliffe roundabout on the A629 Aire Valley road, where new traffic lights will be installed

• improvements to the junction of Lawkholme Lane, which will include a new toucan crossing for pedestrians and cyclists, which will be co-ordinated with the new roundabout traffic lights

• the replacement of street lighting along Hard Ings Road with new more efficient LED lights

• replacement pavements incorporating a new, shared cycle lane

• improved access for allotment holders

• new landscaping

• installation of permanent digital Variable Message Signs to improve the information available to drivers in the area

• slight modifications to the access to a number of businesses and the ambulance station.

The main construction work is expected to take around 58 weeks to complete.

A Bradford Council said: “This scheme is designed to make improvements to air quality in the area and reduce journey times at this congested bottleneck for both residents and road users including motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.

“The whole scheme allows us to take the opportunity to make the road safer and enhance the quality of this stretch of road.”

“We realise that this work will cause quite major disruption to those living and working in and travelling through the area, but the improvements are necessary and will be worth it.”

Council contractors recently planted 62 ornamental native trees in and around Victoria Park, including maple, lime, holly, cherry and mountain ash.

These young trees complement the established mature trees in the popular park and replace a smaller number of low-quality trees that have had to be removed to make way for the road improvements.

As part of the preparations, vegetation has been cleared on embankment at the Keighley Cricket Club ground, the A629 approach to Beechcliffe roundabout, and on the roundabout itself.

Landscaping works will be carried out along parts of Hard Ings Road, including the planting of replacement shrubs and trees, once the main work is finished.

During construction work the two Variable Message Signs will be used by the council and contractors to keep people up to date with the progress of the works.

This work will include sheet piled and masonry retaining walls, site clearance, the diversion of utilities, new fencing, new crash barriers, boundary walls, highway drainage work, lighting, road signs, pedestrian and cycling facilities, accommodation works third parties, earthworks and new road markings.

New carriageways and footways will be constructed, and existing carriageways and footways along the route will be resurfaced.

The council said that when a public consultation for the scheme took place in autumn 2016, the consultation was well-received and all were in favour of the project.

As preparatory work for the scheme got underway in January this year, Cllr Kim Groves, chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, spoke in favour of the scheme.

She said: “By reducing congestion in Keighley, this West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund scheme will increase opportunities for economic growth and job creation in the area.

“The scheme is forecast to result in a reduction in CO2 emissions of 6,673 tonnes and will deliver improved conditions and facilities for people walking and cycling, which will mean a positive impact on local health.”

The Hard Ings Road scheme is funded through the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund.

The fund is supported through the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal – a £1 billion package of Government investment delivered in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.

The Combined Authority has allocated £150 million of Transport Fund investment for schemes in the Bradford district.

In addition to the Hard Ings Road improvements, major junction improvements are set to get underway in the coming year.

These will be at the Harrogate Road New Line junction at Greengates, and at three roundabouts on the A6177 Outer Ring Road to the west of Bradford are set to get underway in the coming year.