Bedfordshire County Council today welcomed £2 million worth of funding from the Department of Transport, which will help towards the overall construction costs of the much needed Bedford Western bypass.

The County Council has promoted the scheme and bid for the Government funding.

Work on the £24 million Bedford Western bypass is expected to start soon, but this is dependent on final land sale agreements being signed by the current land owners.

The new bypass which is due to be completed in the summer of 2009, will be three miles long and link the A421 to the A428, bringing traffic congestion relief to the county town of Bedford, Kempston and numerous nearby villages.

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Bedfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Waste, Councillor Tom Wootton, said: “We are pleased the Department for Transport recognises the importance of the Bedford Western bypass and has agreed to financially support the scheme. People living in and around Bedford have put up with traffic congestion for too long and this bypass, which is due to be finished in 2009, will bring some relief for thousands of local people and road users.

“The bypass is mainly funded through the sale of nearby land for housing. We all wanted the building work to start this month, but sadly the landowners have not been able to sign the necessary documents.

“I hope the landowners can put pen to paper soon, so that building work can begin in August. Otherwise we could see the construction costs of the bypass start to rise which might delay the scheme and I really don’t want that happen.”

(JM/SP)