In 2017, the City Council approved a strategic transport investment programme that comprised four main packages. These are:
- City Centre First – including the construction of a new station building and car park at Coventry Station (nearing completion) and public realm improvements in the heart of the city centre, the most recent phase of which having been completed in 2021.
- Very Light Rail
- Coventry South package – which includes the improvement of junctions on the A46 (with works ongoing at both Binley and Stoneleigh Junctions), improvements at Tile Hill Station, and transport infrastructure to support planned development to the South of Coventry.
- Coventry North package – focussed on the Keresley Link Road and improvements at Junction 3 on the M6.
The Council secured funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority to complete a study into the transport infrastructure requirements in the North West Coventry area. View the resulting Outline Business Case.
The main conclusions from the outline business case are that the Keresley Link Road is critical to facilitate housing growth in the Keresley area, specifically the allocated Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension, and that options for the improvement of M6 Junction 3 need to be investigated given the expected growth in travel demand expected at this location resulting from planned development along the A444 corridor linking Coventry, Bedworth and Nuneaton.
Keresley Link Road
The Link Road will provide a connection between the A4114 in the western part of the city with the A444 in the north, and will reduce the impact of traffic on local communities in the North-western part of the city. The new road will be single carriageway, and will incorporate segregated footway and cycle routes serving new and existing development. The first section of the route is already under construction as part of the Taylor Wimpey housing development on Tamworth Road, and new junctions on Tamworth Road / Long Lane will be the next phase of the scheme to start on site.
Whilst it is intended that the bulk of the scheme will be developer funded, the City Council is exploring ways of securing advance funding to ensure that the Link Road can be built as early as possible alongside the planned new housing schemes.
M6 Junction 3
The City Council is working closely with National Highways (the agency responsible for the management of the M6) and Warwickshire County Council (the Local Highway Authority responsible for the A444 north of Coventry) to develop proposals for the improvement of the junction. Whilst the junction is outside Coventry, it provides an important gateway into the city from the M6, hence the Council’s interest in ensuring that the junctions operates as efficiently and safely as possible.