New £43m Stoke-on-Trent link road opens to drivers

The new link road opened to traffic on Monday evening

A new link road has opened in Stoke-on-Trent.

The £43m Etruria Valley Link Road, which connects the A500 at Wolstanton to Festival Park, opened in time for the evening rush hour on Monday.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council said linking sites in the Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone to the road network would help unlock hundreds of jobs.

The authority added the scheme was among "the biggest transport infrastructure projects" in the area.

Built by Balfour Beatty, it features a new viaduct over the West Coast Mainline and Fowlea Brook, a new bridge over the Trent and Mersey Canal, and a roundabout with a full-scale spitfire statue.

The Etruria Valley Link Road connects the A500 at Wolstanton to Festival Park

The project was ready in time for Monday's evening rush hour

The full-scale Spitfire is inspired by the work of renowned aircraft designer Reginald Mitchell

The council said it was "one of the biggest transport infrastructure projects" in the area