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Work on busy roundabout could take up to 9 months

Martin Heath
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Google The road junction seen from the air, with a roundabout busy with traffic passing over a trunk road. There are five exits off the roundabout, two of which head to residential areas visible to the right. The land in between the roads is covered in trees and shrubs.Google
The Queen Eleanor Interchange links a trunk road with routes into Northampton, Newport Pagnell and Hardingstone

Work to improve one of Northampton's biggest junctions could take up to nine months, the local council has suggested.

Highways contractors are due to arrive at the Queen Eleanor Interchange in the town at the end of March.

West Northamptonshire Council said the junction had struggled to "keep up" with the increase in traffic in recent years.

Full closures of the roundabout will be necessary at times along with lane closures

The Queen Eleanor Interchange is about 450m (0.3 miles) from one of the three remaining crosses - which are stone monuments - erected by King Edward I in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile.

It links the A45 trunk road with the A508 London Road into the town centre, the Newport Pagnell Road and Hardingstone Lane.

Google Traffic entering onto a roundabout. A row of cars has stopped at traffic lights on the roundabout. There are overhead traffic lights, and trees are visible alongside the road in the background.Google
The road is normally busy, and sometimes gridlocked at peak hours

The council said the junction was "not fit for purpose" because, as traffic had increased over the years, it had "struggled to keep up, and improvements were needed to make it more efficient".

The project, which included carriageway widening, new traffic signs and signals, and resurfacing, was "expected to be complete by the end of the year", a spokesperson explained.

West Northamptonshire Council A diagram showing a roundabout with five exits and different colours denoting carriageway, path and verge work on the site.West Northamptonshire Council
The work includes carriageway widening, new traffic signs, drainage and resurfacing

There will be lane closures on the roundabout, and on the road heading into Wootton Hall Park, the headquarters of Northamptonshire Police.

A one-way system will be in place.

The council adds that full roundabout closures will be necessary on occasion, but "these will occur at night-time whilst it is less busy and dates will be communicated prior to any closure".

Access will be maintained at all times to properties and for emergency services, and diversion routes will be in place during full closures, the council added.

Ollie Conopo/BBC Peter Ingram wearing a white hat and glasses looking at the camera with orange hi-vis. A road lined with trees is behind him, and there is a yellow digger in the backgroundOllie Conopo/BBC
Peter Ingram, from Kier Transportation, said his company would do "all we can to minimise disruption throughout the project"

Peter Ingram, contracts director at the council's contractor Kier Transportation, said: "We look forward to starting these works, which will bring long-term road improvements to the region, enhancing connectivity and easing congestion for road users.

"We would like to thank motorists for their patience as we carry out these improvements and will do all we can to minimise disruption throughout the project."

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