Greater connectivity between the ports of Grimsby and Immingham is being toasted with the completion of the £8.5 million Humber Link Road.
Opened this week, the 2.5km stretch - taking in the entrance to the sprawling former Courtaulds plant - is described as saving up to 20 minutes travel time, as it negates the need to use the A180, the key road artery into North East Lincolnshire.
The two-year build was brought forward as part of the local authority’s £42 million South Humber Industrial Investment Programme, delivered in three phases and opening up enterprise zone land.
Dafydd Williams, ABP’s head of policy, communications and economic development in the region, said: “ABP welcomes the new road as it will bring even greater connectivity between our ports of Grimsby and Immingham. The new infrastructure will not only benefit our business and other companies on the port, it will also reduce carbon emissions.”
Overhauling a large section of existing unadopted road between Novartis and Lenzing Fibers, the link is provided from there to Stallingborough’s Hobson Way, where the South Bank industrial sites connect to the 海角视频’s largest port.
One beneficiary is Adrian Rowlands. He owns Enviro Gy Ltd, and recycles 20,000 lorry loads of polystyrene annually for use as building insulation in the 海角视频 and Europe.
Daily collections are made at Grimsby Docks, while he is also looking at opportunities for expansion to the west. A relationship with Leeds City Council is pioneering domestic polystyrene collection.
“The direct route we now have to Immingham may well open up more opportunity and we certainly welcome that,” he said.
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More than 100 trees have been planted along the fully lit stretch with thousands of tonnes of recycled products used. Bus stops, and cycle and pedestrian pathways have also been installed and it is set to become part of North East Lincolnshire’s new ‘cycle-superhighway’, a £2.2 million shovel-ready recovery project to vastly improve the area’s cycle network.
North East Lincolnshire Council leader, Cllr Philip Jackson, said: “The opening of this road is very much welcomed. It opens-up a tranche of land for future investment along the South Humber Bank, and supports the green agenda with a shorter route between Grimsby and Immingham taking heavy traffic away from the A180.
“It is also an example of the way in which we are investing in infrastructure right across the area.”
It was supported with funds secured by Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Chair Pat Doody said: "We are pleased to have invested £2 million into this strategically important infrastructure scheme for the South Humber Bank.
"It will provide enhanced access arrangements to a number of new employment sites within the South Humber Gateway area, enabling new businesses to locate here and creating new jobs.”