Completed Armley Gyratory footbridges improving vital routes for walking and cycling

Armley Gyratory’s three brand new replacement footbridges are now fully opened, as part of a multi-million-pound scheme to offer improved routes for pedestrians and cyclists, negotiating one of Leeds busiest junctions.

The replacement footbridges over Wellington Road (A58), Spence Lane and Gelderd Road; are part of wider works, worth more than £41.96 million project around the Armley Gyratory, which is funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority via the West Yorkshire Plus Transport fund.

The improved infrastructure provides vital links to connect communities like Wortley and Holbeck to the city centre, with more accessible footways and bridges.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and sustainable development, and ward councillors Paul Wray and Annie Maloney were joined by representatives from the Combined Authority, construction partners Balfour Beatty and the project team to officially open the routes. 

Work started in January 2024 to demolish the existing footbridges, which were of a poor standard and approaching life expiry and replace them with more accessible structures. They follow highways works to the main gyratory which were completed in winter 2023. During construction, the project team have worked through challenging conditions and managed to keep travel disruption to a minimum.

Overall, the improvements to the Armley Gyratory provide pedestrians and cyclists with more appealing and accessible routes, increased safety for all road users, improved traffic flow and less congestion. More than 660 trees have been planted around the gyratory and in the local community, alongside new landscaping, which has further enhanced the biodiversity of the area.

The changes to the gyratory have increased vehicle capacity and helped to alleviate congestion at the junction. They are part of transformative highways works to remove through traffic across the city centre, mitigate environmental issues, better connect neighbourhoods, and encourage people to travel on foot or by bike.

These are all part of the Connecting Leeds transport strategy to transform travel throughout Leeds, setting out the council’s vision for a city where you don’t need to use a car, where everyone has an affordable zero carbon choice in how they travel.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and sustainable development, said:

“We’re delighted to see Armley Gyratory footbridges fully opened to residents again, across this important scheme to transform travel on a key piece of the city’s infrastructure. I’m pleased to see this scheme has completed during some challenging conditions, all while maintaining an essential route and keeping traffic flowing around the city.

“Throughout the project, there’s also been significant contributions to the local economy. For example, contractors have mainly employed local people, supported 218 weeks of apprenticeships and the site team have volunteered 130 hours in the local community. There has been over 100 hours of schools’ engagement and over 60 hours of help to support the under 24s into work. This has been a fantastic effort and investment in our local communities. And it’s great to also see almost 100% of waste diverted from landfill, with 620 tonnes of CO2 saved on the project. 

“We would like to thank everyone involved in working on this scheme, along with people’s ongoing patience, while this essential project was carried out. Although it’s great to see this project complete, we’re conscious that there’s still a lot of other work taking place around the city and we are working hard to deliver these as swiftly as possible while minimising disruption wherever we can.”

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

“These improvements will increase accessibility and make it easier and safer to walk and cycle on one of the city’s busiest routes.

“It’s great to have delivered such an important project together as we continue to build a better-connected region for everyone.”

Stephen Semple, Area Director at Balfour Beatty, said:

“We are proud to have played a key role in delivering these new footbridges, which are a vital part of the wider improvements to Armley Gyratory.

"Throughout these essential works, we’ve supported young talent through apprenticeships, placements and school engagements whilst also achieving significant carbon savings and waste reduction as part of our commitment to leaving a lasting, positive legacy in the communities we operate in."