Construction of the New River Bridge in Essex Road, Hoddesdon officially started today (15 January). The new bridge will improve access to Hoddesdon Business Park, helping to support local businesses.
Representatives from Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Broxbourne Borough Council gathered at the site to celebrate the start of works, which are being carried out by the county council’s contractor, Osborne.
The new bridge will be built alongside the existing bridge on Essex Road to provide a new modern and resilient road link to improve access to and from Hoddesdon Business Park for all vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. The current bridge will remain open while construction work takes place.
The existing bridge is the only HGV access to the Business Park. This 118 hectare site is one of the largest employment areas in Hertfordshire and is home to major employers, including Sainsbury’s, and houses the Ambition Broxbourne Business Centre. The existing bridge is 60 years old and not built to modern standards. Both the road and pavement are very narrow, making it difficult for large vehicles to pass. This means that the bridge acts as a bottleneck, and any incident that requires repairs to the bridge has a major impact on the business park. The new bridge will add additional resilience to the highway network supporting the existing and future needs of businesses and local road users.
The works are expected to take around 15 months with the new bridge opening to traffic in spring 2021.
Councillor Lewis Cocking, Leader of Broxbourne Council, said:
This is an important scheme within the Borough of Broxbourne, one which will reap significant benefits for those that use Hoddesdon Business Park. The improved access to the park will encourage new businesses to set up here, creating more jobs and better prospects for the Borough.
Phil Bibby, Cabinet Member for Highways and Environment at Hertfordshire County Council, said:
It’s great news that works are getting underway on this long-awaited scheme. This new bridge is the sort of important infrastructure that we need to be investing in to support our local economy. Local jobs are crucial to achieving sustainable growth and the bridge will make it much easier for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians to get to and from the Hoddesdon Business Park, making it a much more attractive place for business.
With around 100,000 new homes expected in Hertfordshire by 2031, we need to create 100,000 new jobs, so it’s vital that we invest in key schemes to improve the road network to unlock economic potential and keep our economy thriving as the population grows.
Adrian Hawkins, Deputy Chair, Hertfordshire LEP, said:
We are delighted that construction has now started on the New River Bridge - a vital infrastructure project set to significantly improve access into and out of Hoddesdon Business Park, one of the largest employment areas in Hertfordshire.
The new bridge and link road will fully connect Hoddesdon Business Park with the strategic highway network which will benefit existing businesses, attract new businesses to the business park, and unlock the area’s growth potential.
Minister for Local Growth, Rt Hon Jake Berry MP, said:
We are committed to boosting economic growth and levelling up every region in the UK.
I’m delighted that £8.9 million from the Government’s Local Growth Fund is being invested in the construction of the New River Bridge. This project will greatly improve access for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians to the Hoddesdon Business Park while ensuring that the local road network keeps pace with the scale of development in Hertfordshire. These vital infrastructure projects show that Government is delivering on its promise to boost job creation, invest in local services and unleash the full economic potential of communities in Hertfordshire and across the country.
Jon Millar, Osborne programme manager, said:
Today has been a great opportunity to mark the start of this long-awaited and much-needed project. The new link road will improve journey times, resilience and safety, as well as benefitting Hoddesdon Business Park and the local economy.
The scheme, developed by Hertfordshire County Council in conjunction with Broxbourne Borough Council, is supported by an £8.9m Local Growth Fund investment from Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), £1.47m from Hertfordshire County Council, and £400,000 of developer funding from Broxbourne Borough Council.
There is more information about the scheme at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/newriverbridge
Note to editors:
About Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership
Hertfordshire LEP is one of 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships tasked by the Government to drive forward economic growth working with private and public sector partners to tackle barriers to growth and to ensure that people, places, and businesses thrive.
With its Strategic Economic Plan, it has successfully secured over £300m Government and EU funding to date to support its three key priorities which include Strategic Infrastructure, Skills and Employment, and Enterprise and Innovation.
Find out more about its investments to date at www.hertfordshirelep.com.
About the Local Growth Fund
Local Enterprise Partnerships are playing a vital role in driving forward economic growth across the country, helping to build a country that works for everyone.
That’s why by 2021 Government will have invested over £12bn through the Local Growth Fund, allowing LEPs to use their local knowledge to get all areas of the country firing on all cylinders.
Some additional key facts:
- There are 38 LEPs covering the whole of England
- The government has awarded £9.1bn in three rounds of Growth Deals to local areas to drive economic growth.
LEPs are investing in a wide range of projects including transport, skills, business support, broadband, innovation and flood defences.