Second phase of 'hugely significant' Great Yorkshire Way in Doncaster completed

The second phase of Great Yorkshire Way, which completes the direct link from the motorway network to Doncaster Sheffield Airport, has officially opened to traffic.

The new road, delivered by Doncaster Council and backed by the Sheffield City Region, has already proven a big draw for airlines with TUI recently announcing a 30% increase in seats from DSA for summer 2019.

There is now a continuous route to south east Doncaster from Junction 3 of the M18, reducing journey times for residents and boosting opportunities for local businesses to create more jobs.

The second phase will also provide additional cycle and pedestrian facilities linking new residential areas and the development area surrounding the airport to existing routes and the town centre. These facilities will be available by the end of June, after finishing off work has been safely completed.

Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster, said: “We always knew its impact would be hugely significant and lead to hundreds of millions of pounds of private sector investment in Doncaster.

“There are more flights to business and holiday destinations, the old colliery site at Rossington is being reclaimed and people are living in new family homes and finding more job opportunities at the iPort and other developments.

“Over 1,400 new jobs and almost 1,000 new homes have been created and this is all due to the collaborative approach we’ve taken to working with our public and private sector partners.

“With the second phase of the Great Yorkshire Way now complete, stimulating further economic growth and making the borough even more accessible to the people of Yorkshire and beyond, Great Yorkshire Way is one of the region’s most successful regeneration projects, investing in infrastructure in order to grow and transform the economy so that it works for the many not the few.”

The second phase of Great Yorkshire Way cost £10.55m with £9.1m contributed by the Sheffield City Region and £1.45m from Doncaster Council’s Capital Programme.

Funding has come from the Local Growth Fund (LGF), which is Government funding awarded to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) for projects that benefit the local area and economy.

Tarmac was the main contractor for the scheme designed by Mott MacDonald and the council’s strategic infrastructure team.

Dan Jarvis, mayor of the Sheffield City Region, added: “For a relatively short piece of road, the final stage of the Great Yorkshire Way will have a huge impact. Directly linking Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) to the motorway network will make DSA far more accessible for people across the region.

“Our airport is already seeing success in terms of new routes, rising passenger numbers and an increased demand for cargo facilities. But there is further potential. I know that DSA can be as significant on the east of the Pennines as Manchester Airport is on the west.”

Robert Hough, chairman of Peel Airports Group, commented: “The road has not only played a huge role in making the airport so easy and stress free to get to but has also helped to bring new airlines and routes to DSA with our main airlines, Flybe, TUI and Wizz Air, now totalling 55 routes.

“It is a good example of how transport infrastructure helps unlock international connectivity, new housing, tourism, commercial development and people’s ability to move around.”

Lee Tinkler, operations director North, Tarmac, also said: “The collaboration and dedication shown by the whole team delivering the second phase of Great Yorkshire Way has been fantastic and meant that challenges faced along the way, some of them unprecedented, have been overcome to successfully deliver the project on time and within budget.

“Tarmac is extremely proud to have played our part in delivering this economically important infrastructure project which is supporting local and regional growth and creating jobs for local people. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Doncaster Council to deliver future schemes in the area.”

Nigel Morley from Mott MacDonald concluded: “We congratulate Doncaster Council on the completion of this prestigious project for the Sheffield City Region. Mott MacDonald is proud to have played a significant role in the design and management of both phases of Great Yorkshire Way and we are delighted to see the developments at Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Rossington iPort prosper as a direct result.”

The £56m first phase of Great Yorkshire Way, which opened on 29 February 2016, provided a new three mile link from Junction 3 to the A638 Bawtry Road and has since been used for almost 14 million journeys.

It was funded with contributions from Peel Group, Harworth Group, Verdion, Doncaster Council and the Regional Growth Fund.

Great Yorkshire Way is a central part of the Sheffield City Region Growth Plan which aims to stimulate economic growth and create 70,000 jobs over the next 10 years.