A DUAL carriageway and roundabout are to be built as part of £127 million improvement works in North Lanarkshire. 

Approval has been granted to upgrade road connections between Motherwell and Ravenscraig around the latter's regional sports centre. 

The new carriageway will run from the Airbles Road/Windmillhill Street roundabout in the town's centre, east through the Orbiston Street industrial area before passing under the West Coast Main Line railway and on to the Ravenscraig hub.

 

Paths for pedestrians and cyclists will be created on both sides of the new road, with crossing points at key locations.

This is the first part of the £127.2 million Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure (RAI) project, which is being funded by the council and Glasgow City Region City Deal.

Councillor Paul Kelly, Council depute leader, said: “This is a key milestone for our ambitious plans for the regeneration of the former steelworks site, with permissions now in place to create the new connection from the site south to Motherwell, and north to the M8 and to the rest of Scotland

“By improving access to and from the site, we are opening up more opportunities for investment in business, retail, housing and leisure.

Glasgow Times: An artist's impression of the plans An artist's impression of the plans

"The new road and active travel links will create many construction and associated jobs over the next couple of years but, more importantly, it is the starting point for Ravenscraig to have a new future where people can live, learn, work, invest and visit.”

In addition to creating new connections to Motherwell, the wider RAI project will improve connections from Ravenscraig north to the M8 and south to the M74 and is part of plans to regenerate the former steelworks site, which has been used as one of NHS Lanarkshire's major vaccine hubs during the pandemic. 

UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said: "Improving infrastructure is essential to unlocking regional growth and regeneration, and will remain just as important as we transition to Net-Zero." 

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Scottish Government Finance and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes said: “I am very pleased that approval has been granted to upgrade the road connections between Motherwell and Ravenscraig.

"The Ravenscraig site is one of great importance and it is fantastic to see it being transformed from the derelict land that it had become following the closure of the Steelworks to this thriving new community."