Rotherham town centre road improvement scheme official opening

The area, formally known as the Pool Green Roundabout, now known as New York Junction, was fully operational by Sunday 5 July.

To celebrate the completion of the works, an “opening ceremony” took place on 16 July with the local schoolchildren who named that new junction. They also buried some time capsules.

The children, who come from Ferham Primary School and Thornhill Primary School, were joined by invited dignitaries, to help bury the time capsules, each filled with items chosen by the school children.

The New York Junction scheme involved the removal of the roundabout and pedestrian subways and replaced them with a traffic signal controlled junction that will allow extra capacity for traffic movements on the A630 Centenary Way to meet increased traffic needs, both now and in the future.

The scheme cost approximately £5.1 million, of which £3.438 million was funded through the Department of Transport's “Pinch Point Fund”. In addition, a contribution of £1.166m has also been secured from the European Regional Development Fund towards the scheme.

Both funds recognised the value of removing bottlenecks on local highway networks that are impeding growth, such as the former Pool Green Roundabout.

A review by Council officers found that the most appropriate solution to improve the area was to convert the junction to a crossroads with traffic signals.

Pedestrian crossing facilities have replaced the subways, allowing people safe access on foot between the town centre and Masbrough.

New landscaping schemes, including 32 new trees and 40,000 bulbs, will also be planted to help enhance the ecology of the area.

The new junction will mean changes for some right turning traffic as all of the right turning movements, apart from the right turn from Masbrough Street to A630 Centenary Way, will be banned. Alternatively, the right turns will be accommodated with U turn loops as follows:

Traffic wanting to turn right from A630 Centenary Way into Masbrough Street will go straight through the junction towards Ickles roundabout, but turn at the new U turn loop provided, and then turn left into Masbrough Street.

Traffic turning right from Centenary Way into Main Street will go straight through the junction towards College Road roundabout, but turn at the new U turn loop provided, and then turn left into Main Street. Alternatively drivers can turn right earlier at Ickles Roundabout in order to access the town centre via Sheffield Road.

Traffic wanting to turn right from Main Street into Centenary Way will turn left at the new junction, then U turn at the loop, and then proceed straight through the new junction.

The highest level of right turning traffic is from Masbrough Street into Centenary Way, towards Ickles roundabout, and this movement is accommodated within the junction and drivers should proceed as normal.

Further minor works will continue after the junction becomes operational. These will be required to address small paving, landscaping and other issues, and whilst certain work may potentially require some small scale temporary traffic management, it is expected that this will be minimal.

Advisory Cabinet Member for Housing and the local economy, Councillor Denise Lelliott, said: “We’d like to thank everyone for their patience whilst these works have taken place.

“Traffic movement through Rotherham town centre towards the M1, as well as allowing greater access to the town centre, will be greatly enhanced because of the scheme and we’re hopeful that motorists will see the benefits almost immediately.

“It’s fantastic that the local schoolchildren have been so closely involved in the naming of the new junction, I've no doubt it will help them develop their civic pride and give them a real sense of being involved in a slice of Rotherham’s history.”