Plans approved to widen bottleneck Barnsley road to ease congestion

Under the plans, lodged by the South Yorkshire Transport Executive, Old Mill Lane will be widened by an extra two lanes, one of which would be a bus lane.

A cycle and pedestrian path on either side of the carriageway will also be installed, and the bridge over the River Dearne will be widened by approximately 7m to accommodate the additional lanes.

The existing bridge currently comprises three lanes, with a pedestrian footway on either side of the carriageway.

Under the new plans, the highway will be widened to provide five lanes each measuring 3.5m in width. This would include four vehicle lanes and a separate bus lane.

The plans, approved by BMBC, would be implemented on the stretch of the road from Asda up to Wickes.

A report states that the scheme is needed because the stretch suffers from “congestion, significant delay and journey time variation for buses andgeneral traffic”.

A 2017 study found that the Old Mill Lane bridge is a “bottleneck for southbound traffic” towards the town centre,

To make way for the scheme, 14 car parking spaces will be taken from the Asda car park, as well as a memorial, bus shelter and Asda recycling centre.

An existing bus stop and bus shelter, an existing gas governor and a memorial will be relocated under the scheme.

An officer report to BMBC’s planning board states that the scheme will “encourage new retail and town centre development” by improving access to the town centre.