Devon County Council will commit £20m this year to transport schemes.

The council’s cabinet committee are being asked at next Wednesday’s meeting to note the budgets allocated to both the Local Transport Plan and other major transport schemes, as well as the source of the funding.

The report of Dave Black, Head of Planning, Transportation and Environment, says that a significant proportion of the programme is helping to deliver major schemes, many of which are now in the advanced design stages.

5 of the many schemes planned for 2018/19 are:

Construction of the first Phase of the new A361 junction to access the Tiverton Eastern Urban Extension to be completed in July 2018 and detailed design and procurement for Phase 2 of the junction to commence. 

Contractors for Devon County Council are currently on site implementing the southern side slip roads as part of phase one. Phase two of the junction will complete the full junction through the provision of an overbridge and north side slip roads, giving a full movement, grade separated junction.

Detailed design work to develop major road improvements for the North Devon Link Road with a planning application due in late 2018. A formal bid for £250m worth of major improvements to the North Devon Link Road was submitted to the Government one week before Christmas Day. The bid follows years of campaigning to improve the road, described as “not fit for purpose” and which has seen “a very worrying number of serious accidents”. The improvement proposals will see more dualling between Tiverton and Barnstaple.

Detailed design and development work will continue to progress the A382 Widening Scheme and the Houghton Barton Package at Newton Abbot. The £28.5m scheme, which Devon County Council planners approve in June 2017, will involve straightening the alignment of the road, widening the section from Trago Mills to White Hills Cross and developing a section of dual carriageway between Drumbridges and the Trago Mills roundabout.

Detailed design work will commence to deliver the Main Street highway to serve the Sherford new community. Devon County Council successfully bid for £5m awarded in Department for Transport Government funding in 2017, alongside a Sherford Consortium investment of £3m, and as part of a commitment in improving the region’s transport links, work will commence later this year on delivering the spine route which will be known as Main St. 

Supporting the expansion of WiFi at smaller more remote stations on the Devon Metro Rail network.Improvements to passenger information is identified for rail travel by supporting the expansion of WiFi at smaller more remote stations on the Devon Metro Rail network.