Road to close as work to cut congestion begins

Three lanes will become five at Old Mill Lane bridge

Old Mill Lane, a main route in and out of Barnsley town centre, is being altered to cut congestion.

The road will be closed from Harborough Hill Road to Old Tannery Road on Sunday between 19:00 BST and 06:00 BST the following day.

The closure comes ahead of 10 weeks of work to widen the road to create five lanes instead of the current three.

The project will "encourage new retail and town centre development” by making it easier to get in and out of town, the council said.

Matt O’Neill, executive director for growth and sustainability at Barnsley Council, said: “The improvements offered by SYMCA’s (South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority) work at Old Mill Lane will provide a great benefit to our residents and the surrounding businesses as we look to tackle the long-term congestion problems that affect the area."

He said with it being such a "vital route" they appreciated the initial road and lane closures would cause some disruption.

“Further updates will follow as the work progresses and the changes take shape throughout the year," he added.

A cycle and pedestrian path on either side of the carriageway will also be created, and the bridge over the River Dearne will be widened by approximately 23 feet (7m) to accommodate the additional lanes.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a planning report stated the scheme was needed because the stretch suffers from  “congestion, significant delay and journey time variation for buses and general traffic”.

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