Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, welcomed the Minister for Transport, Andrew Jones MP, to begin construction of the new £38m Woodside Link Road with Central Bedfordshire Council.
Work on the major link road by Balfour Beatty will include the diversion of the Houghton Brook via two bridges and a culvert, a sheet piled retaining wall, noise barriers and drainage works as well as facilities for cyclists and landscaping.
The 1.8-mile Woodside link road is expected to stimulate investment, reduce congestion and improve air quality in the towns, connecting the Woodside business area to the M1 motorway at the new junction 11a.
A proposed new 5,600 home development and 30 hectare business district are also set to benefit from the new link road.
Transport Minister, Andrew Jones, said: “This scheme will make it easier for people to access Luton Airport and the M1, providing better journeys for residents and businesses and supporting more housing and jobs. The Government is committed to investing in faster and more reliable transport links. This road scheme is part of our long-term economic plan to deliver benefits for everyone.”
Nick Osborne, Balfour Beatty Regional Director of Operations, said: “The official start of work ceremony by Andrew Jones MP marks a significant step in the delivery of the Woodside Link Road Project alongside Central Bedfordshire Council, a road that will provide an important connection between the Woodside business area and the M1.”
The new link road is scheduled to open in winter 2016.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) is a leading international infrastructure group. With 36,000 employees, we provide innovative and efficient infrastructure that underpins our daily lives, supports communities and enables economic growth. We finance, develop, build and maintain complex infrastructure such as transportation, power and utility systems, social and commercial buildings.
Our main geographies are the UK, US, Middle East and South East Asia. Over the last 100 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world including the London Olympics’ Aquatic Centre, Hong Kong’s first Zero Carbon building, the world’s biggest shopping mall in Dubai, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in the US and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
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