We design and develop schemes to plan for future developments and traffic flow. We also look at how road safety can be improved where issues have been identified.
These are some of the projects we are currently working on:
Blue Lagoon Redway
2021-2023
This is a large and complex scheme so it has been divided into four phases. This is a complicated scheme as there are several landowners involved and ecological factors so the design and planning stage has taken longer.
Section 1 was completed in 2021 when a pedestrian crossing was constructed on Drayton Road along with a section of redway to connect the Lakes Estate with the rest of the network across MK.
Sections 3 and 4 will start in 2023, linking the redway from the Blue Lagoon Nature Reserve to Water Eaton Road, following planning permission being granted in November 2022. The works consists of 900 metres of new redway and improvements to the Blue Lagoon Nature Reserve Car Park; an additional 15 car parking spaces will be provided.
Site clearance works began on 16 January and should be completed by the end of February.
The main works to Section 3 will start in March 2023 and will run until June. A badger set was discovered in Section 4; the set is to be closed in July and this will delay the start of the main works in Section 4 until August. It is hoped that all works will be completed in December. Construction traffic will access the site via tunnels under the mainline railway off Drayton Road and Barton Road.
To provide a safe working area, it will be necessary to:
· Close part of Footpath No.27 (Bletchley) south of Water Eaton Road
· Close part of Footpath No.28 (Bletchley) from Barton Road through the tunnel for the duration of the works (Jan- Dec).
· Close the concrete access road and the Blue Lagoon Nature Reserve Car Park for the duration of Section 3 (March-June).
As a result, the eastern part of the Blue Lagoon Nature Reserve near the railway line will be closed during the works. The western part of the Blue Lagoon Nature Reserve near the lakes will remain open. Access to the western part of the Blue Lagoon Nature Reserve will be pedestrian only as the concrete access road and car park will be closed during Section 3 works (March-June).
Section 2 is the link to the Newton Leys area which will be constructed in the future, subject to available funding.
H4 Dansteed Way (V4-V5) road safety scheme
Starts 9 January 2023
We'll be starting work here to close the right turn gaps on the H4 Dansteed Way onto The High Street or Kensington Drive, Two Mile Ash and Great Holm. This location has been identified as having above average collisions so as the highway authority, we have a duty to take action to improve safety for all users.
The scheme will also improve the crossing points for pedestrians and cyclists at the Kensington Drive junction.
Works should take between 8-10 weeks to complete and during this time it will be necessary to temporarily close sections of the road and redway.
You can view the plans of the scheme by clicking on the links below:
New Bradwell Streetlighting Scheme
Several terraced streets have streetlights attached to the front of houses rather than lampposts. To bring these areas into line with current regulations, we are working with Western Power Distribution (now National Grid) to disconnect these lights and install lamp columns with LED lanterns.
These streets are: Caledonian Street, Wallace Street, Wood Street, St Mary Street, School Street, King Edward Street and Queen Anne Street.
School Street will be a pilot scheme works starting late 2022/January 2023. The remaining streets will be started in phases from February/March 2023. As part of the scheme, we'll also be carrying out other minor works such as weeding, cleaning gullies, refreshing road markings and fixing signs.
For more information, read our Frequently Asked Questions on this scheme.
New H9 Groveway roundabout
February - December 2022
The roundabout is now fully open to traffic. Some remedial works to the verge areas will continue into January/February 2023.
The Highways team were commissioned by the Milton Keynes Development Partnership (MKDP) to design, plan and install a roundabout on the H9 Groveway near Walton Drive. A new development called Walton Manor is being built at this location on land owned by MKDP so there will be additional traffic accessing and exiting the H9 plus existing traffic going to the Open University campus. The vegetation clearance began in February 2022 with the main construction works starting in March 2022. The roundabout will be completed by December 2022.
The groundworks are complex due to the large amount of utility services under the verge which include a main gas pipe. For safety, only hand digging is allowed around this pipe.