Carrington Bridge, named after Councillor Ron Carrington, was opened in 1985 to provide an alternative to the bridge in the city centre. The bridge was elevated above the floodplain. The new bridge, providing a dual carriageway, was opened in 2022.
Artists impression of the new Southern Link Road
The new Southern Link Road was constructed between 2019-22. This had been a long term aim of Worcestershire County Council. Making the Southern Link Road dual carriageway would significantly reduce journey times, helping keep unnecessary traffic out of the city centre. The dualling will also support economic growth by improving access to and from the M5 and also to the Worcestershire Parkway station.
Map showing the Southern Link Road scheme
The Southern Link Road consists of a new 1.9km road to the south of the current carriageway and the building of an additional bridge and viaduct next to the current Carrington Bridge and Powick Common Viaduct. The work also included the construction of a cycle and footbridge over Hams Way.
A computer-generated impression of the work to be carried out.
Time lapse footage of the Hams Way Bridge being moved into place over the A4440 Southern Link Road.
It was funded by a mix of central government via the Department for Transport (DfT), Worcestershire County Council, Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and contributions from developers, who have paid towards the infrastructure necessary to accommodate traffic generated by their schemes.
The Ketch viewpoint has been updated, with new interpretation panels created, with a board by the cycleway near Powick too.
During the planning and construction it was important that the local ecology and wildlife would be taken into account and that there would be mitigations for any impact. You can read more about how the support for the wildlife elsewhere on this website.
As part of the planning process the project was also required to ensure that the historic environment would be considered and any archaeology excavated and recorded. Worcestershire Archaeology carried out this work.
You can read more about the project on the Worcestershire County Council Southern Link Road Pages.