Bad weather sets back opening date of Melton Mowbray's new relief road
Poor weather has set the opening date back for the North East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road, the county council has confirmed this afternoon (Friday).
Contractors, Galliford Try, had hoped to be able to open the road this spring and it was anticipated this could be as early as Easter.
But a spokeswoman for Leicestershire County Council told the Melton Times this afternoon: "Following prolonged rainfall throughout January and February - one of the wettest periods on record for Leicestershire - our remaining construction activity was impacted by a few weeks.
"The weather has now stabilised and the road is set to open in May 2026."
The single lane, 7.1km long relief road includes six roundabouts and passes down the east of the town, connecting the A606 Nottingham Road to the north with the A606 Burton Road to the south.
It is the biggest ever highways scheme in Leicestershire, with the final cost increasing sharply to £134M from the initial estimate of £63.5M thanks to rapidly rising construction costs and inflation.
The contractors have worked in challenging conditions this year with rain almost every day before the recent sunnier mid-March weather.
The last jobs they will carry out are the resurfacing of the new highway and the installation of road signs.
Drivers will be limited to 40mph for the stretch from Roundabout 1 to Roundabout 3 and 60mph between roundabouts 3 to 6 – two controlled pedestrian crossing places have been constructed.
The route will have a dedicated pathway for walkers, runners and cyclists along the entire length.