Milton Keynes City Council is carrying out a series of essential infrastructure works along sections of the V8 Marlborough Street corridor and nearby roundabouts as part of investment in the city’s ageing street lighting network.
On the V8, testing and technical surveys will be quickly followed by the replacement of power cables and ducting that are more than 40 years old. A single cable fault can make multiple streetlights go out at once, including nearby underpasses that share the same supply.
The City Council had originally planned to do this work last year, but it was postponed because of essential work to boost the power capacity for MK University Hospital’s growth, which has now been completed by the utility.
Works have been scheduled in phases to minimise disruption for road users, with all work expected to be done by mid-March.
The schedule of work is:
February
- Peartree Bridge (V8 Marlborough Street)
- V8 Marlborough Street (H6 Childs Way to H7 Chaffron Way)
- V8 Marlborough Street (H6 Childs Way to H5 Portway)
Fishermead Roundabout (V8 Marlborough Street/H7 Chaffron Way) was completed in January.
Every effort will be made to complete works sooner where possible.
Two additional sites for cabling upgrades will follow this work, with details to be announced shortly.
Councillor Jennifer Wilson-Marklew, Cabinet Member for Highways, said:
“Replacing these cables is an essential part of our ongoing investment in maintaining and improving the city’s streetlight infrastructure. Many of the existing power cables are more than 40 years old and have reached the end of their operational life. That’s why we’re increasingly seeing multiple lights go out at once — a single cable fault can affect whole sections of lighting, including nearby underpasses that share the same supply.
Cabling faults are the most complex and time-consuming issues to fix, but our teams are working hard to investigate and restore lighting as quickly as possible.
Our priority is safety, which is why we focus on the grid roads first. These routes carry high volumes of fast-moving traffic, so ensuring good visibility is critical.”