More frustration for residents in western Milton Keynes with plans to close chunk of major grid road for weeks

The same road was closed for three months for traffic improvements two years ago
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A section of a major grid road is to be closed once more between August and October, it has been revealed.

Two years ago the same stretch H4 Dansteed Way was closed for three months between the junctions with the V3 and V4 for a new roundabout and crossing to be built.

But now a letter has gone out to residents on Whitehouse and Crownhill telling them more highway works will start next month.

The new roundabout under construction in the first stage of the workThe new roundabout under construction in the first stage of the work
The new roundabout under construction in the first stage of the work

The work will cover the same new roundabout and junction with the H4 and Randall Avenue on Whitehouse and will involve installing traffic lights.

MK Council says the first scheme was a "temporary" one and the upgrade was always intended. But many residents are angry at the inconvenience.

"Less than two years ago exactly the same short stretch of road was closed for three months while a new roundabout , bus stops, numerous traffic calming solutions, pedestrian crossings, basically a complete redesign on the original layout," said one householder.

He added: "Today's letter is now stating that this was a temporary solution! This was not mentioned at the time. My concern, that I feel needs investigation, is that the temporary solution was built to such a high spec that it was always meant to be permanent and that the lack of strategic planning by the highways team has lead to a huge additional cost burden to the Milton Keynes council tax payer. It would be interesting to compare the cost of the original work with the cost of the new project."

The MK Council highways documents state: "Traffic on the Whitehouse side of Milton Keynes’ Western Expansion Area will increase over the next 20 years in line with the planned development of the area, and over time we’ll need to improve capacity at busy junctions to cope.

"Two years ago, we put in a temporary roundabout at the junction of Dansteed Way with Randall Avenue as a first step. This junction was always intended to become a signalised controlled junction (meaning one with traffic lights) as set out in the original transport assessment for Whitehouse planning approval."

The documents add: "Now that the Whitehouse development is nearing completion, we’ll be starting work to signalise the junction in August 2021 and expect it to be complete by October 2021. In addition, a new pedestrian crossing will be created, and bus stops will be relocated from their current positions. You can view the plans for this scheme in the Documents section.

"During the works, Dansteed Way will be closed between Crownhill and Randall Avenue roundabouts, and the Crematorium will be accessed from Crownhill roundabout."