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News  »  Work on cycleway - update from County Highways department



   Work on cycleway - update from County Highways department    2 April, 2019

Ditton Lane & Links to East Cambridge

The construction of the new foot/cycleway on Ditton Lane and Horningsea Road is progressing well, if more slowly than was hoped. The contractors would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the lengthy road closure of High Ditch Road – it was caused by a number of issues with the moving and renewing of utility pipes and cables. In the final few weeks of the closure, concerns about worsening congestion meant we were only permitted to operate 3-way temporary traffic lights at the main junction, rather than 4-way lights. As such High Ditch Road had to remain closed whilst the works on the High Street and Horningsea Road were finished.

In the next phase of the works, the contractors will be based south of the junction and the temporary traffic management will revert to 2-way temporary traffic lights on Ditton Lane. The contractors will initially be doing drainage works on both sides of Ditton Lane next to the car park on the west side. These works should help reduce the water ponding problem that occurs on this section of the road after heavy rain. The contractors will also continue widening the Ditton Lane footway between Fison Road and High Ditch Road, and tying in the new path with driveways on the east side of Ditton Lane. Please note, there will be periods when sections of footway will be closed and pedestrians will be directed onto the footway on the opposite side of the road.

On 5 February the Parish Council discussed what option would be best for supporting the embankment of the paddock on Ditton Lane south of High Ditch Road once the path has been widened. A small solid retaining wall was agreed upon by councillors, provided the South Cambridgeshire District Council Conservation Officer and Parish Council approved the materials.

Overnight road closures of Ditton Lane and Horningsea Road will be necessary to carry out resurfacing works. These closures will take place over 7 or 8 nights in late April/early May and will occur at a time when the A14 is not shut for overnight works between Stow-cum-Quy and Milton. When the dates for these works have been confirmed, a letterdrop to the whole village will be carried out.

The cycleway works should be completed by the middle of May as the contractors must vacate their compound on Fison Road by 24 May. Full reinstatement of the green space has been agreed with the City Council – it includes a perennial wildflower meadow and new trees.

Do check the Greater Cambridge Partnership website for updates on the works: www.greatercambridge.org.uk/dittonlane.

The Ditton Lane & links to East Cambridge cycleway project is one of five Cross City Cycling schemes that are funded by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP). The route will form part of Cambridge’s expanding cycle network – a network containing high quality infrastructure to accommodate Cambridge’s growing economy. One of the main aims of the scheme is to make walking and cycling safer along Ditton Lane and Horningsea Road.

The Wadloes path

Once the Ditton Lane and Horningsea Road cycleway works are completed, the contractors will be asked to start on the Wadloes foot/cycleway which will be widened to 2.5m (so not as wide as the Ditton Lane to Ditton Meadows foot/cycleway that was recently widened to 3.0 to 3.2m; the final surfacing still needs to be carried out). Further information on the Wadloes path works will be sent out when more details are known – the path will be closed during the works so pedestrians and cyclists will need to divert along Ditton Lane over this period.

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