The expansion of Nottingham’s tram system to Beeston and Chilwell will see construction finishing works take place at the junction of Abbey Street, Abbey Bridge and Gregory Street in the Dunkirk/Lenton area of Nottingham from Saturday, July 4.
The finishing works will bring the extension of the NET system through Lenton to Beeston and Chilwell a step nearer completion.
The extension will mean that tram passengers will be directly linked to Nottingham’s main hospital campus at the Queen’s Medical Centre, which will be the UK’s first hospital to be served by tram and will be a short tram ride from the heart of the city centre and accessible from both the current tram system from Hucknall and Phoenix Park and the new tram route to Wilford and Clifton.
To accommodate the works, there will be temporary traffic lights on Abbey Street/Abbey Bridge from this Saturday for two weeks and Gregory Street will be closed on both sides of the junction .
A NET spokesman said: “We recognise that Abbey Street/Abbey Bridge is a busy through route for traffic from the south-west heading into and out of the city, so we will do all that we can to minimise disruption while these works take place. However, there may be some delays to traffic, so motorists are politely advised to allow extra time or, if possible, take an alternative route.
“The commissioning and driver training programme is now well advanced on both routes, and by creating this tram network we are providing real alternatives for people who currently travel by car.”
Councillor Jane Urquhart, with lead responsibility for NET at Nottingham City Council, added: “The extended system will link people to key employment sites and services, like the QMC and the University of Nottingham, and it will create jobs, both directly and indirectly, and is already helping to spark regeneration in the city. Unfortunately, these works are likely to cause some disruption over the next couple of weeks so, where possible, people would be best to consider alternative routes, but we’ll be working to support the contractor to try to minimise this disruption as far as possible.”