A new public travel route for Harlow & Gilston Garden Town will begin construction in the New Year after Essex County Council announced the appointment of Bouygues UK Ltd this week.
Known as a Sustainable Transport Corridor, the route will provide upgraded rapid bus services as well as walking and cycling links, new public realm, trees, signage and lighting.
The routes will run from the town centre and alongside the A1019 to a redesigned junction at Burnt Mill before connecting to the Garden Town villages in Gilston over the next few years.
Bouygues formed over 70 years ago and assisted in the rebuilding of France after the Second World War before expanding worldwide and increasing UK operations since the turn of the millennium.
Welcoming the appointment of Bouygues UK, Cllr Tom Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport at Essex County Council said: “The delivery of a high-quality sustainable corridor offers a transformational opportunity.
“Providing frequent hop-on hop-off rapid-bus services into and away from the town centre, linking shopping, leisure and train services with new and existing communities will reduce the need for car use for very short journeys and help further drive forward the local economy.
“We also recognise that to encourage walking and cycling, we need to remove the barriers and through this project we will provide new segregated walking and cycling surfaces, lighting, signage, seating and cycle storage, linking the future Gilston development and existing communities such as at the Hides, with the wider cycle network.”
HGGT Director, Naisha Polaine, added: “The start of the Sustainable Transport Corridor construction will be a real landmark moment for Harlow & Gilston Garden Town.
“Additional bus, cycling and walking routes are integral to what we want to achieve with new jobs and new homes for the local area.
“With four Garden Town communities sitting alongside a regenerated town centre, greater connectivity across the local area is going to be key in helping people move around in a quick, safe and healthy way that’s good for the environment while easing traffic congestion.”
Utility works on the corridor started earlier this year and are expected to be completed in the coming weeks ahead of the Main works starting in early 2024.
