Aston Webb Boulevard opens to ease Selly Oak traffic

A new relief road in Selly Oak, named Aston Webb Boulevard, has been opened by the Transport Minister, Norman Baker, in a scheme designed to halve the traffic running through the centre of the district.

The road opened on 13 October.

What has been built

The 2.5km road runs to the west of the A38 Bristol Road and the Selly Oak shopping centre, on one of the main routes into Birmingham from the M5 and the south west. The scheme also includes improvements to the existing A38, including narrowing the carriageway, a new bus interchange, bus priority measures and better facilities for cyclists and pedestrians.

The £61 million scheme received more than £38 million from the government. It is expected to cut through-traffic on the existing A38 by half.

A route to the new hospital

The new road will also be the main route to the new £500 million Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which opened to patients last year, and to the University of Birmingham.

A name chosen by residents

The name was chosen by Birmingham residents. Sir Aston Webb was a prominent architect who designed the Great Hall on the University of Birmingham's Edgbaston campus, which overlooks the new road.

"Huge pluses"

Mr Baker said: "I am very pleased to be able to open the new Aston Webb Boulevard today. It is an important scheme for Birmingham, which will bring huge pluses both for people living locally and those travelling through the area."

"Not only will the scheme provide substantial benefits to the local community by removing a large amount of traffic from the centre of Selly Oak, it will also provide a better route for bus services and make it easier and safer for residents to walk and cycle."

An engineering challenge

Councillor Timothy Huxtable, cabinet member for transport, environment and regeneration, said building the road across the path of both the canal and the railway had been a major engineering challenge. "I am glad to say it is a challenge we have risen to whilst keeping disruption to trains and boats to an absolute minimum," he said.

The road was built by the council's construction partner, Birse Civils.

A long time coming

The scheme was fully approved by ministers in March 2006, although a relief road for Selly Oak had been discussed for decades. The district, with its busy shopping centre and large student population, has long suffered from heavy traffic on the Bristol Road.

The council hopes that with less traffic, Selly Oak's centre can be revitalised, with a safer, less congested environment for shoppers, cyclists and people arriving by bus.