Road works planned to improve bus journey times

Work to improve bus journey times and reduce traffic jams on the A61 Chesterfield Road in Sheffield has been approved.

Sheffield City Council announced changes including the installation of smart traffic signal technology to give priority to buses and updated bus stops that provide live journey information.

A new yellow box junction is also planned for the junction at Derbyshire Lane in Meersbrook to reduce delays, the council said.

The first phase of the project, which is to be funded with £788,000 from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, was agreed by the council's finance committee on Monday.

A council report said the aim of the funding was to make public transport more attractive to users, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It said this would help to drive growth and productivity, decarbonise transport and level-up services, as well as reducing road user conflict and improving highway safety.

The first phase of the project also included plans for "signal optimisation and detection" so that buses can be prioritised at junctions.

Work will take place until November, the council said, and would focus on "quick wins".

The second phase would involve larger engineering work and need further approvals, the report said.

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