Majority of work done as Bradford improvements stop for Christmas

Work to transform swathes of Bradford city centre has now paused for Christmas, with the majority of the centre now reopened.

The majority of the Transforming Cities project to pedestrianise areas of the city centre,is now complete, with all the major changes to the road network layout, the new bus loop in place and the work on the new pedestrian core area of the city centre finished.

Work to create the huge new Norfolk Gardens park will, however, continue into the New Year.

Vast areas of the city centre are no longer a construction site, with fences coming down opening spaces like Market Street, Bank Street and Bridge Street back up.

Key areas of the work on the highway include the new Croft Street gyratory at the bottom of Manchester Road and a new crossing for pedestrians and cyclists replacing the old Jacobs Well roundabout and subways.

Big highway changes have been made around the National Science and Media Museum, Alhambra Theatre and Bradford War Memorial – with Little Horton Lane blocked off and landscaped.

Opening up Well Street at the back of The Broadway Shopping Centre and the work to the roads and pavements on Lower Kirkgate, Vicar Lane is also complete.

They form a major part of the bus loop, which now connects people to key areas such as the top of town including North Parade, The Broadway Shopping Centre, The Leisure Exchange, The Alhambra, the university and college area as well as City Park.

From January 5, when the Bradford Interchange Bus Station is reopened, the bus loop will be able to operate as originally intended when the majority of bus services will use the bus station. New cycleways and bus stops have been installed across the city centre.

Turning circles including the roadway and paving at Bridge Street, Hall Ings and Sunbridge Road have all been completed and new disabled parking bays and taxi ranks have been installed.

All the new pedestrianised areas including on Market Street, Bank Street, Bridge Street, Broadway and Hall Ings from the old Telegraph & Argus press hall to the Bradford Hotel are now complete and fully open to the public.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “Landscaping and planting throughout the new pedestrian areas is mostly complete with 20 planters containing trees, plants, and shrubs already planted up. “The remaining four are to be planted in the new year. New street furniture has been also installed in the area.

“The only fencing remaining in place on these areas is around the planting, to help it become established and will be removed completely early in the new year ready for Rise the UK City of Culture launch event on 10 and 11 January.”

Work in the Norfolk Gardens area is continuing, with much of the work in this area completed.

The groundwork including drainage, much of the paving and cycleway, lighting and utilities work has been completed. Landscaping in the area is progressing well; trees and shrubs will be planted in the new year and stepping stones marking the route of Bowling Beck which runs under the area have already been laid.

The project team from construction partner Balfour Beatty will return in the city centre after the festive break to complete this final section of the project.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport praised the work of those constructing the scheme and said: “The teams working on the scheme have pulled out all the stops to get the project to this stage in time for the Christmas break.

“We are already seeing the benefits of moving the heavy traffic out of the core of the city centre. Air quality has improved, and the new traffic-free public spaces are making it easier to get around and between shopping and entertainment areas.”

The project has been delivered through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transforming Cities Fund, which is a capital grant transport fund, provided by the Department for Transport and cannot be used for other purposes, such as delivering day to day services or other projects.