East Leeds Orbital Road opens

[Aviador]

East Leeds Orbital Route opens ​

The new East Leeds Orbital Route (ELOR) will be fully open in time for Leeds festival goers to use ahead of the 26 August 2022, subject to completed road safety checks.

ELOR is a two-lane dual carriageway 7km in length, connecting the A6120 (Outer Ring Road Shadwell) in the north to Manston Lane in the south where it connects to the Manston Lane Link Road (MLLR) which is delivered as part of the Thorpe Park development. When it opens, ELOR will become a new section of the Leeds outer ring road.

The dual carriageway includes five new roundabouts at the A6120, A58, Skelton’s Lane, the A64 and Barwick Road. The A64, often an area of vast congestion during the festival weekend will benefit from the new dual carriageway increasing the road capacity for people arriving at the festival by car or coach.

It’s opening will also ease congestion in existing residential areas across Cross Gates, Seacroft, Whitkirk which are often heavily affected by the traffic.

The remaining works on the project include landscaping, that has seasonal planting restrictions and will continue until the contractual completion date in December 2022. Some isolated traffic management may be necessary to facilitate this work but this will be limited to off peak and night time only.

Councillor Helen Hayden, executive member for infrastructure and climate, said:

“It’s tremendous that the East Leeds Orbital Route (ELOR), the biggest infrastructure project undertaken by Leeds City Council for fifty years, since the completion of the Leeds Inner Ring Road is to be opened in time for the Leeds Festival weekend at Bramham Park.
I am grateful to all those involved in this very significant civil engineering project which is of critical importance to the city.

Stephen Semple, Area Director at Balfour Beatty, said:

“Testament to the dedication and hard work of our teams over the last three years, we are pleased that the East Leeds Orbital Route has now opened on schedule and ahead of Leeds Festival in August.
“Working alongside Leeds City Council, we have made significant and sustainable contribution to the local economy and community, engaging a local workforce wherever possible whilst also delivering numerous employment and skills workshops for the surrounding community.”

 

[Aviador]

Most people I know welcome the new Leeds Orbital road but they also agree that the road should have been built to motorway standard without the five roundabouts along it's route.

The road will improve connectivity with Leeds Bradford Airport from the A64, the M1 and the M62 from the East.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

Most people I know welcome the new Leeds Orbital road but they also agree that the road should have been motorway standard without the five roundabouts along it's route.

The road will improve connectivity with Leeds Bradford Airport from the A64, the M1 and the M62 from the East.

I’m actually one who disagrees with it been motorway standard. That would of required a lot more work, digging underneath many different roads/junctions. Usually the roundabouts flow and judging by what I’ve seen (A64) they are massive. It’ll be busy no doubt but the releif on cross gates, seacroft etc will be felt with immediate affect.

 

[Aviador]

I'm hoping Leeds City Council come up with a plan to extend the road further to eventually fully connect the airport and onwards to Pudsey.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

I'm hoping Leeds City Council come up with a plan to extend the road further to eventually fully connect the airport and onwards to Pudsey.

Pigs will fly. Since the road that was planned to relieve Yeadon/Rawdon was objected too by so many and rejected. Cause no bigoted councillor or MP could see anything other then it benefiting the airport. When in reality it would benefit the locals a-lot more.

 

[Aviador]

And here's a drive through...

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

Well doesn't that look a nice road to drive. Noticed how it's now built with cycle lanes beside the road but not interfering.

Please tell me that was in realtime @Aviador? If so ... 7 minutes as opposed to the torturing 30 at times is a dream.

 

[blotbuc1]

Most people I know welcome the new Leeds Orbital road but they also agree that the road should have been built to motorway standard without the five roundabouts along it's route.

The road will improve connectivity with Leeds Bradford Airport from the A64, the M1 and the M62 from the East.

When the M1-A1 link road east of Leeds route (rather than the western route which went past the end of the runway at LBA) was first planned more than 30 years ago it was accompanied by a proposal for a Crossgates/Seacroft bypass ending at the A61/Ring Road junction at Moortown. The road was to have grade separated junctions (flyovers) including the Moortown junction. The scheme was scrapped because of local opposition. ELOR is generally on line of the proposed bypass but doesn’t include the section from Red Hall to Moortown.

At an exhibition of the ELOR proposals some years ago I asked the LCC staff why, other than cost, wasn’t at least the proposed A64 junction (likely to be the busiest) not grade separated. The only answer I could elicit was that no other junctions on the Ring Road were grade separated and that their modelling showed that it had capacity up to 2036 without improvements- cost then!

 

[blotbuc1]

Well doesn't that look a nice road to drive. Noticed how it's now built with cycle lanes beside the road but not interfering.

Please tell me that was in realtime @Aviador? If so ... 7 minutes as opposed to the torturing 30 at times is a dream.

I drove along it shortly after it opened and although there was very little traffic, and I didn’t time it, about 7 minutes would seem to be correct 😀

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

At an exhibition of the ELOR proposals some years ago I asked the LCC staff why, other than cost, wasn’t at least the proposed A64 junction (likely to be the busiest) not grade separated. The only answer I could elicit was that no other junctions on the Ring Road were grade separated and that their modelling showed that it had capacity up to 2036 without improvements- cost then!

That just sums this country up. Rather then look at it, highlight the fact the A64 junction would be the busiest and therefore invest here and now to ensure it may have capacity up to 2050/2055 they are just going with it'll last 14 years and when it gets to that we'll do something about it. It is the only junction that I feel needs to be grade separated. The rest are fine.


EDIT - TODAYS JOURNEY
8 Minutes from Ring Road to Thorp Arch leisure complex.
6 minutes on the return.

They've literally made that leisure/shopping complex much more attractive to people of North Leeds then white rose shopping centre. I'm very impressed.

 

[Aviador]

That just sums this country up. Rather then look at it, highlight the fact the A64 junction would be the busiest and therefore invest here and now to ensure it may have capacity up to 2050/2055 they are just going with it'll last 14 years and when it gets to that we'll do something about it. It is the only junction that I feel needs to be grade separated. The rest are fine.


EDIT - TODAYS JOURNEY
8 Minutes from Ring Road to Thorp Arch leisure complex.
6 minutes on the return.

They've literally made that leisure/shopping complex much more attractive to people of North Leeds then white rose shopping centre. I'm very impressed.

I might have to have a run out to test it out. Any idea on time from M1 to LBA via the official route?

Got to say, getting to the WR centre is a nightmare.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

I might have to have a run out to test it out. Any idea on time from M1 to LBA via the official route?

Got to say, getting to the WR centre is a nightmare.

I stopped at that The Springs so didn't continue onto M1 to test but would imagine from the Ring Road extra 30 seconds.

It depends what you class as "official route" (ie follow the signs?) because the quicker way for me is via A660, through Bramhope, left at Pool bank and at the airport. Overall I would say 25 minutes that way on a bad day, or traffic lights against you. If people follow the signs you'll be talking 30 minutes if not longer as the ring road's a nightmare around Horsforth.

 

[CM.]

I live not far from the Orbital road and have driven down it a few times now and would agree that it takes around 7 minutes. A nice improvement and also offers an alternative route to Oakwood/Roundhay if you wanted to avoid the busier areas of Crossgates, Seacroft Ect..