Plan ahead – emergency utility works starting 12 November

Motorists are being urged to ‘plan ahead’ when using the city’s roads this week, with emergency utility works leading to additional congestion.

A gas escape below Dewsbury Road carriageway is in urgent need of repair by Northern Gas. From 5am Saturday 12 November the A653 Dewsbury Road/Meadow Lane will be restricted and diversions will be in place. It is hoped that the repair will be complete before Wednesday 16 November. Motorists if travelling out of the city are encouraged where possible to use junction 4 instead of Junction 3 of the M621 and the motorway network.

These emergency unplanned works coincide with the ongoing programme of major improvements being delivered across the city, including on City Square and at the Armley Gyratory.

Gary Bartlett, Leeds City Council’s chief officer highways and transportation, said:

“The unplanned emergency works have created unavoidable additional pressure on our city’s roads, and we thank people for their patience. At the same time we are encouraging people to plan their journeys in advance, either by allowing extra time or using alternative methods of travel.

“We will be publishing updates on our social media channels, and you can find diversionary routes at www.leeds.gov.uk/planahead and the national one.network system.”

Park and Ride, and alternative routes to travel into and around the city include:

• Leeds has three Park and Ride sites located at Stourton, Elland Road and Temple Green. Cheaper than city centre parking with electric buses running every 10-15 minutes, direct into the centre. Adult return fares are £3 before 3pm and only £1 after with up to three children travelling free with every fare paying adult.
• Customers can plan a journey by public transport using Moovit. Further information for rail passengers on strike affected services is available on the National Rail website.
• Cycling or walking into the city.
• Motorists who have no option other than to drive should consider travelling outside of peak times where possible, or use alternative routes which do not pass through the city centre, such as using Junction 4 of the M621 instead of Junction 3.

A map of alternative routes has been produced along with directions to a number of key destinations, which all avoid using Junction 3 of the M621 leading on to the route towards City Square where major highways works are currently underway.

The dedicated webpage http://www.leeds.gov.uk/planahead and contains details of ongoing works around the city centre, along with links to the national one.network system showing all planned utility and roadworks across Leeds. Visitors can also sign up to receive regular email updates.