Project to improve city route set to start

A one-way traffic restriction will be in place during the work

A £1.3m project to create a new cycle lane and improve footpaths on a road in Leicester is set to start.

Leicester City Council will start work on a stretch of Abbey Gate on Sunday.

The authority said it was an "important section of road" for walkers, wheelers and cyclists and would link new cycleways on the A50 to Route 6 of the National Cycle Network at Abbey Park.

One-way restrictions and diversions will be in place during the works, but businesses will remain open as normal, the council said.

'People-friendly routes'

A one-way traffic restriction will be in place on Abbey Gate from Woodgate Drive towards Ravensbridge Drive, and on Bradgate Street towards Blackbird Road.

The council said Abbey Gate would be closed in both directions to allow resurfacing work to be carried out later in the year.

Geoff Whittle, assistant city mayor for environment and transport, said: "This important scheme will help provide a much-improved link to existing infrastructure for people on foot, on bikes or using wheelchairs or other mobility aids, extending the network of people-friendly routes in and around the thriving Waterside neighbourhood."

The project has been funded by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership and Leicester City Council after it secured £32m from the government's Transforming Cities Fund.