CALLS have been made to scrap multi-million pound improvements to Stoneleigh Junction.
The £38million scheme will see work completed on the A46 between Coventry and Kenilworth in a bid to reduce delays and improve safety.
It will include a new bridge over the A46, aligning Stoneleigh Road and Dalehouse Lane, creating a bigger roundabout at this junction and building a new bridge over Finham brook.
But Warwickshire county councillor Jonathan Chilvers said the money should be spent elsewhere.
He told the Observer: “This is a stupendous misuse of almost £40million of our taxpayer’s money.
“Councils and government say they want to tackle climate change, but in practice put massive sums of money into bigger roads which will create more dangerous air pollution.
“This cash could have been invested in rail and bus services more of us could use between Coventry, Warwick University, Kenilworth and Leamington so that the road doesn’t need widening in the first place. The scheme is a relic of old outdated thinking and should be cancelled.”
It comes after the Department for Transport released £18million towards the scheme, with other funding coming from Warwickshire County Council, the West Midland Combined Authority and other partners.
County council transport spokesman Jeff Clarke welcomed the funding.
He said: “These works illustrate Warwickshire County Council’s commitment our businesses and communities are supported by excellent transport infrastructure.
“The existing Stoneleigh junction was constructed in the 1970s as part of the A46 Kenilworth bypass and no longer meets the needs of modern traffic. Traffic levels have changed considerably since its construction and this is all too evident in the amount of congestion that regularly builds around the Stoneleigh Road and Dalehouse Lane during rush hour.
“These improvements will significantly improve traffic flow and ease the current levels of congestion and will see the junction fit for the challenges of the future.”
