Work gets under way on 'confusing' Leicester junction

The council says the junction is one of the most confusing in the city

A £10.4m programme of improvements to one of a city's most "confusing" junctions and its connecting roads is to get under way.

Leicester City Council is planning a major redevelopment of the A50/FiveWays junction which it says will help make it safer for all road users, including cyclists, pedestrians and buses.

The council said it would completely redesign the junction.

The project is expected to be complete by spring 2024.

Phased approach

The first phase of work is due to begin in Buckminster Road on Monday.

This will involve narrowing its junctions with Blackbird Road and Colwell Road, the installation of a new raised table on Colwell Road to improve safety for people walking and riding bikes.

Existing car parking on verges close to the shops on Buckminster Road will be removed and new landscaping will also be introduced.

The work is expected to take 14 weeks to complete

The council said the initial phase of work is expected to take about six to eight weeks during which time a lane restriction will be required on part of Blackbird Road and Buckminster Road will be closed to through traffic.

A second phase of work - which will involve improvements to Fosse Road North between the FiveWays junction and Stephenson Drive - is due to begin from 13 February.

This will involve removing the existing mini roundabout at the junction of Fosse Road North and Stephenson Road and replacing it with a signalised junction and widening the road to help provide a new bus-only lane on Fosse Road North on the approach to FiveWays junction.

A new cycle track will be created and raised table crossings will be installed across Bonchurch Street and Central Road to improve pedestrian safety. Access to Rally Park will also be improved.

'Ambitious'

Work on Fosse Road North is expected to take about 14 weeks to complete and will require the road to be closed to southbound traffic.

Details of future phases of work - which are due to begin in April - will be publicised nearer the time.

Deputy city mayor Adam Clarke said: "These ambitious works represent a long-standing commitment to improving the FiveWays junction - which is one of the most confusing junctions in the city - and a continuation of our ambitious vision to encourage cleaner, greener, healthier, and cheaper transport in and around Leicester.

"The improvements will help simplify the junction for drivers, make it a much less daunting proposition for cyclists, allow buses to move more quickly along this route and help make the area a more attractive place for people."