A62/A644 (Wakefield Road) Link Road
Update on A62/A644 (Wakefield Road) Link Road
We received a significant response to the public engagement exercise with over 500 comments received from the public and key stakeholders. We've now published our Public Engagement report which summarises how we engaged the public and views shared with us.
You can download a copy of the public engagement report by clicking here (opens in a new tab), or by visiting the documents library on this page.
We are now reviewing these comments in more details and will modify our designs to take these into account where we can.
We have also been continuing with our traffic assessments. However, government guidance recommends that more traffic data in the vicinity of the proposed scheme is used for further traffic assessments. This will help ensure we deliver the most suitable solution.
In light of this, we recently undertook further traffic surveys in the area. We need to incorporate this new information into the plans whilst minimising the impact on the overall delivery of the scheme. We will be in a position to provide a clearer update on the programme's delivery in the autumn.
What next?
In order to turn one of these options into a reality we need to follow a strict process, which we have summarised below:
- Decide the preferred option: this decision is based on a number of things, including the feedback from this engagement exercise, the results of traffic and environmental assessments and values for money.
- Submit option to West Yorkshire Combined Authority: if the Combined Authority are happy with this option they will commit to funding it.
- Create detailed plans and share publicly: Once we know we have definitely got the funding we will create detailed plans for the scheme and share them publicly for feedback.
- Submit planning application: We will then submit our planning application to seek approval to build the scheme.
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The following information was presented for the public engagement December 2018 - January 2019
Why we are improving the A62/A644 (Wakefield Road) in the Cooper Bridge area
Congestion, long journey times and poor air quality is currently experienced in the Cooper Bridge area and on the A644 and A62 nearby. Kirklees Council, in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Calderdale Council, is currently considering a number of options aimed at reducing congestion in the Cooper Bridge area. These include a number of different solutions including a new link road.
West Yorkshire Transport Fund
As part of the 'City Deal' between West Yorkshire, York and central government, a £1 billion transport fund has been allocated to the region to increase housing, employment and economic growth. It is this funding that will enable transport improvements to be made in the Cooper Bridge area and on the approaches.
A62/A644 (Wakefield Road)
The A62 and A644 have been identified as key routes which, through improvements, could support the creation of jobs in the area, relieve congestion, reduce journey times for general traffic, and improve pedestrian and cycling accessibility. Kirklees, with support from Calderdale Council, are proposing changes that will be delivered in various phases.
These improvements aim to:
- significantly relieve congestion and improve journey times and reliability
- support economic growth
- improve road safety
- improve pedestrian and cyclist facilities to encourage more use
- improve air quality
- support housing growth
A62/A644 scheme
We are currently considering three options aimed at addressing the above issues in the Cooper Bridge area.
All options include the following:
- Significant highway changes at the Cooper Bridge junction involving reconstruction and relocation of the islands to improve signal timings at all three junctions of A644 Wakefield Road, A62 Leeds Road (South) and A62 Leeds Road (West).
- Changes to the A62 Leeds Road which will provide general upgrades to the existing roads and footpaths from Miller & Carter Steakhouse through to the Bradley junction, including the reconstruction and relocation of islands within the junctions to improve signal timings.
- General changes on the A6107 Bradley Road, and A62 Leeds Road approaches to Bradley junction, including the reconstruction and relocation of islands within the junctions to improve signal timings.
- General changes on the A6107 Bradley Road, and A62 Leeds Road approaches to Bradley junction, including adding access on to the new link road. Also the reconstruction and relocation of islands and the provision of a one way system toward the southern end of Oak Road.
- Construction of a new roundabout on the link road to provide access to the landfill site and the proposed Bradley Park housing development.
- Provision of new cycle lanes and pedestrians footways along Cooper Bridge Road, A62 Leeds Road, the Cooper Bridge junction and A644 Wakefield Road.
Specific features of each option are:
Option A:
- Widening of the A644 Wakefield Road to a dual carriageway between the M62 and the new link road
- Construction of a dual carriageway link road between Bradley junction and the A644 Wakefield Road
Option B:
- Widening the A644 Wakefield Road between the Cooper Bridge junction and the M62 to provide an additional lane towards the M62
- A new two-way single carriageway link road between Bradley junction and the A644 Wakefield Road
Option C:
- Widening of the A644 Wakefield Road between the Cooper Bridge junction and the M62 to provide an additional lane towards the M62.
- Construction of a link road between Bradley junction and the A644 Wakefield Road.
- between the A644 and the new roundabout on the link road, the road will be a two-way single carriageway.
- between Bradley junction and the new roundabout will be a one-way single carriageway providing access from Bradley junction to the new link road.
Our first draft scheme plans of the proposed improvements can be found in the plans section of this page, or downloaded from the documents library to view in more detail.
In addition to the above proposed improvements, we are also working in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority's CityConnect (opens in a new page) programme to create an improved cycle route from Brighouse through to Cooper Bridge. We will share more details on this once the designs are complete.
You can comment on our plans by completing the survey below.
We have created an extensive list of FAQ's (opens in a new window), but should you have any additional questions, please ask them in the Q&A tab below, and we will endeavour to provide a response as soon as possible.
