Multi-million-pound improvements at major Staffordshire transport gateway progress with new traffic arrangements

Posted on Friday 19th April 2024

Mark Deaville

A scheme bringing major improvements to a key Staffordshire gateway junction is progressing well, with latest traffic management changes set to take place this week.

The multi-million-pound project will ease congestion and increase capacity around the A38 junction. It includes creating additional lanes around the junction, on the slip roads and on Branston Road and Parkway. New traffic signals will also be installed.

Work now taking place includes the installation of new islands and signals and means there is a no right turn instruction into the B5018 from Parkway until mid-July. The traffic management layout also prevents vehicles turning right out of the B5018 into Parkway. In addition, there are lane closures on the approaches to the junction. Manual controls of the permanent lights on First Avenue are helping with traffic flow.

Overnight on Friday April 19, the northbound off slip road will be closed to install safety measures, with night-time closures also planned for Parkway westbound and Main Street junction on May 8, 9 and 10 for surfacing.

A £6million allocation from the government’s Levelling Up Fund and a significant contribution from the main developer of the Branston Locks site, Nurton Developments, are funding the scheme. Work is set to be completed in spring 2025.

In addition to improving traffic flow around the junction, the project provides key transport infrastructure for the ongoing homes and employment development at Branston Locks and Burton’s future economic growth.

Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for strategic highways Mark Deaville said:

This project is delivering significant improvements to what is a busy junction and one of the main transport gateways to Burton.

Not only will it improve traffic flow around the junction but support Burton and Staffordshire’s economic growth.

We understand there will be some disruption while traffic management for which we’d like to apologise in advance for, but it is necessary to enable us to move forward in bringing future growth and prosperity to the town and wider area.”

The county council recently upgraded Burton’s northern A38 junction at Claymills and is making further improvements along the northern gateway route this year together with improvements on the east-west A511 to ensure all other routes into the town are accessible during the Branston works.

Regular updates on the scheme will be issued as it progresses.

Anyone wanting to find out more about the scheme should visit the project webpage.

People can contact the project team at: A38Branstoninterchange@staffordshire.gov.uk