Herefordshire Council has today published the Strategic Outline Case report for the Eastern River Crossing and Link Road.
The study was carried out by consultants AECOM and looked at 18 road and non-road options in order to identify the optimum solutions. The report concludes that two alternative routes – with either a 30mph or 40mph speed limit - for a new road between the B4399 at Rotherwas to the A438 east of the city offer the best solution. Each option would carry a walking and cycling route alongside.
The report also recommends that these schemes could be further investigated to the next stage – the Outline Business Case – that would identify a single preferred alignment. The two routes could cost between £145m and £200m to build, depending on the option, with an earliest opening date being 2031.
Cllr Price, Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure, said “I welcome the opportunity to publish this Strategic Outline Case. The report suggests the Eastern River Crossing and Link Road could provide traffic relief to Hereford and help to increase the resilience of the local highway network by providing a second major road crossing of the River Wye to complement the Greyfriars Bridge on the A49. However, the report has also identified a significant increase in costs from earlier estimates, much of which is due to the long bridge required to cross the River Wye flood plan. In my opinion, at up to £200m in total, this scheme can no longer be viewed as a low-cost alternative to the western bypass. I will be considering how this may affect the options available to provide much-needed traffic relief to the city, and expect to take a report to Cabinet in the New Year.”
The summary document is available to read here, while the full appendices will be made available at a later date.