News

Milton Road update: March 2024

Published 25 March 2024

The Milton Road project aims to improve public transport, cycling and walking infrastructure to make these sustainable travel options a more attractive alternative to the car.

We are publishing this update slightly earlier to tie in with the requirements of the pre-election period in Cambridge, which starts on Tuesday 26 March.

Overnight road closures - carriageway resurfacing and traffic islands

We would like to make you aware of the upcoming overnight road closures on Milton Road. Letters have been distributed to impacted residents, and maps will be available in Milton Road Library / the Milton Road section of our website.

Mitcham’s Corner to Arbury Road will be closed overnight from Monday 25 March to Thursday 28 March 2024, from 7pm to 6am.

Mitcham’s Corner to King’s Hedges will be closed overnight from Tuesday 2 April to Friday 5 April 2024, from 8pm to 6am, and Monday 8 April to Friday 12 April 2024, from 8pm to 6am.

Arbury Road to King’s Hedges will be closed overnight from Monday 15 April to Friday 19 April, from 8pm to 6am.

Our traffic management team will be on hand to assist throughout the closures.

Access will be maintained for emergency vehicles, buses, pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrians and cyclists may be requested to stop and wait until it is safe to pass. Bus routes will continue to operate as normal but may experience some minor delays whilst being escorted. Some bus stops may need to be temporarily moved and these will clearly be marked with signage. A member of the team will be on hand to advise.

No parking on the carriageway is allowed between Mitcham’s Corner and George Street. This includes the layby outside Mitcham’s Corner as we need to surface this area.

Works include surfacing and the installation of traffic islands.

You may experience some noise while we carry out these works, but we aim to complete the noisiest works before midnight to reduce disruption.

We would like to apologise in advance for any disruption these works may cause during this time.

Accessing or exiting a property or business within the closure (areas shown in red on maps)

The main closure points will be manned by our traffic management team.

Residents may be subject to a diversion or escort by the traffic management team, depending on where you need to get to. You may be requested to wait at the closure point until it is safe for our teams to let you access through the site depending on the activity being undertaken at the time.

For exiting side roads on to Milton Road, there will be a diversion sign at each road junction which will direct you away from impacted works.

Mitcham’s Corner / Gilbert Road - west

On the west side of Mitcham’s Corner we have put down both layers of tarmac on the footway.

Once the final layer of tarmac has been laid on the cycle lane, and the resurfacing of the road has been completed along with any finishing touches, works will be complete in this section.

Ascham Road Copenhagen crossing

Works are continuing at Ascham Road. We have started with excavation and are working on a new drainage system.

Please note vehicle access to Ascham Road will be via Gilbert Road and Gurney Way. Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to access Milton Road from Ascham Road. This includes access to the schools in this area.

Arbury Road shops area

We are making good progress with the new Union Lane northbound bus shelter in place (although not yet quite ready for use – please see Bus Stop section in this update for information).

Surfacing of the footway and cycleway is scheduled for the beginning of April all being well. Once works in this area are complete, the team will move further north closer to the Arbury Road junction and open the southern section of the shops area.

Access for business and shop users, along with deliveries and parking, continues to be maintained.

Arbury Road / Union Lane

We have completed works on the north side of the Arbury Road junction and have now moved to the south.

Work on a junction such as this is a complex task as the location and purpose of underground utilities (such as high and low voltage electricity cables, gas, water, storm drainage, BT and Cityfibre) needs to be established. While some of the utilities may be quite old or redundant, others may need to be moved to prevent damage and to enable works to take place safely and efficiently, whilst maintaining access to all properties.

Works at this junction have now reached a stage where we will shortly be able to return this section of Milton Road to two-way traffic, which will enable vehicles to flow better through this junction.

Watch the GCP's project manager Thomas Porter talk about the junction.

North of Arbury Road/Union Lane

Just north of Arbury Road on the west, work on drainage installation and kerbing continues.

The Downham’s Lane bus shelter is due to be installed shortly but will not be quite ready to use straight away. In the section north of Middleton Close, heading towards Ramsden Square, final surfacing will shortly take place.

A reminder that on the east, there is a pedestrian diversion while drainage channels are installed followed by kerbing. See map.

We have recently closed the footway on the east side from approximately 230-252 Milton Road as of Thursday 21 March for approximately two weeks. We have only closed it in small sections of approximately 30-40m at a time. The pedestrian diversion will be on the cycleway. These works are to move the demarcation kerbs between the footway and cycleway to create a wider footpath.

Birch Close Copenhagen crossing

We will be starting work on the Birch Close Copenhagen crossing in early April.

As with Fraser Road, the junction will not be closed. Two-way traffic will be maintained on Milton Road with motion sensitive lights to enable vehicles to enter and exit Birch Close. We expect works will roughly take eight weeks to construct the new junction.

By returning Milton Road to two-way traffic at the Arbury Road junction, this will also help us to reduce the impact these works have on traffic levels in the area.

Fraser Road Copenhagen crossing

Work on the Copenhagen crossing at the Fraser Road junction continues with excavation and kerbing having taken place before block paving goes in. Works are likely to take approximately eight weeks, and we are currently on track to switch over to the second half of the junction by Easter.

To make the most efficient use of time in this area, we decided to make this stretch of Milton Road single carriageway. This has enabled us to work in conjunction with Cambridge Water to get their works completed at the same time, minimising disruption for residents in the long-term.

We have also been able to agree combined works with Cadent gas on the south side of the junction once works have started. The traffic lights at Fraser Road have also allowed us to build the pedestrian crossing island just north of the junction.

Ramsden Square Copenhagen crossing

The Ramsden Square Copenhagen crossing is now complete and the road has been opened to all traffic.

King’s Hedges

Work on the south-west quadrant is continuing.

Block paving, tactiles, kerbs and edging are going in, which will be followed by tarmac surfacing. We are now in the latter stages of constructing this section and are planning for works on this quadrant to be completed in April.

Watch the GCP's project manager Thomas Porter talk about King’s Hedges.

North of King’s Hedges junction – east

The area north of the King’s Hedges junction on the east is now open and will shortly be completed.

This means that the section from Fraser Road to the end of the scheme on the east will then be finished.

Lovell Road Copenhagen crossing

Work has now started at the Lovell Road / Milton Road junction to create a new Copenhagen crossing. This junction will be closed to all motor vehicles while works take place.

Access to Lovell Road via vehicle will be from the King’s Hedges Road access point as shown in the map. Pedestrians and cyclists may continue to enter and exit from Milton Road.

Wildflower swales / verges

At various points on Milton Road we have seeded areas to create wildflower verges. Once mature, these areas create a lovely environment allowing beautiful flowers to grow during the spring and summer months.

We have since decided to apply this approach to the whole of Milton Road given the positive impact these will have both on biodiversity and on local residents. The existing grass only areas will now be planted with wildflower seeds.

In order to do this, we will be scarifying the grass, which will quickly recover, and will be enhanced by pretty flowers growing in spring and summer. In areas of only wildflower planting we will be adding grass seed. This will create a matching landscape across the scheme.

Milton Road area Resident Parking Scheme

Separate to the Milton Road improvements, but of relevance to the area, the Traffic Regulation Order for the Milton Road area Resident Parking Scheme has now been published.

You can find the Traffic Regulation Order on the Cambridgeshire County’s Council’s website and can submit comments to Cambridgeshire County Council before 12 April 2024.

For further information on the scheme, visit our website.

Find out more about the consultation carried out in autumn 2022.

Bus stop update

Any bus stops not listed below are currently open and functioning as normal.

Suspended bus stops

The following bus stops are currently suspended and have been replaced:

Bus stop	Temporary location
Ascham Road southbound	Outside 94 Milton Road
Union Lane northbound	Outside St. Laurence’s Church
Downham’s Lane southbound	Outside 270 Milton Road
Downham’s Lane northbound	Outside 221 Milton Road
Fraser Road southbound	Outside 270 Milton Road
Fraser Road northbound	Outside 221 Milton Road
Kendal Way northbound	Opposite Kendal Way
Golden Hind southbound	Outside 374 Milton Road

Bus services stopping on Milton Road

Milton P&R (PR5)
Stopping at P&R, Science Park, Kendal Way (northbound stop temporarily opposite Kendal Way), Fraser Rd (southbound temporarily outside 270 Milton Road, northbound temporarily outside 221 Milton Road), Downham’s Lane (southbound temporarily outside 270 Milton Rd and northbound temporarily outside 221 Milton Road), Union Lane (northbound temporarily outside St. Laurence’s Church), Ascham Rd (southbound temporarily outside 94 Milton Road), Westbrook Centre.

Number 9
Stopping at Science Park, Kendal (northbound stop temporarily opposite Kendal Way), Fraser (southbound temporarily outside 270 Milton Road, northbound temporarily outside 221 Milton Road), Downham’s Lane (southbound temporarily outside 270 Milton Rd and northbound temporarily outside 221 Milton Road), Union Lane (Union Lane (northbound temporarily outside St. Laurence’s Church), Ascham Rd (southbound temporarily outside 94 Milton Road), Westbrook Centre.

B the busway
Stopping at Westbrook Centre.   

Number 2
Stopping at P&R, driving test centre, Cambridge North, driving test centre, Chesterton - Milton Rd.   

Number 1
Stopping at Westbrook Centre southbound.

Drop-in session

The next monthly drop-in session, with staff from Milestone, will be 11am – 12pm on   Monday 8 April at Milton Road Library.

Please do note that this is a drop-in session and visitors are encouraged to free up space for those coming in.