Construction begins on £49m Howden relief road

Preparation works have started for the project, which will link the A614 Thorpe Road with Station Road.

The highways scheme was cleared last year by East Riding of Yorkshire Council as part of the 460,000 sq ft Howdens kitchen factory complex expansion, a development it will support – along with up to 1,800 homes.

Work on the main phase of roadbuilding is set to start in January 2025, with construction taking around 29 months.

The £49m project is designed to reduce congestion by diverting some heavy traffic away from the town centre, prevent accidents and lower carbon emissions. Funding for the scheme will jointly come from contributions by local housing developers and the council.

The initial preparation work being carried out this month will include creating access roads and a compound pavement that will serve the main construction site for the council’s contractor and provide access for local farm traffic when the main work starts.

Adam Holmes, director of infrastructure and facilities at the council said: “We need to undertake this initial work to ready the site for when the main construction begins next year.

“When it’s complete, we hope the relief road will be a huge benefit to Howden by taking some larger traffic away from the congested town centre, and will also be a help to drivers by providing a new, quicker route.”