Work on major junction completed after three years

David SpereallBBC News, Yorkshire
News imageLeeds City Council Four smartly dressed people hold red ribbons and smile while stood on a footbridge. A larger group of people, almost all of them men, standing behind them in the background.Leeds City Council
The opening of the new footbridges marks the completion of works on Armley Gyratory

A £40m scheme to revamp a major Leeds junction has been completed after three years of work.

Newly built footbridges over Armley Gyratory have been opened, marking the end of the final phase of work on the redevelopment.

It followed the earlier completion of changes to the road layout at the junction, which is one of the major access routes into and out of Leeds city centre.

Leeds City Council thanked drivers for their patience during the works, which have been designed to make the gyratory safer and to reduce city centre traffic.

The replacement footbridges span Wellington Road, Spence Lane and Gelderd Road.

The council said the previous footbridges, which have been demolished, had been of poor standard and were approaching "expiry".

News imageLeeds City Council Cars go by on a three-lane road. A traffic bollard is in the foreground. To the side is a footpath which slowly escalates uphill.Leeds City Council
The council said the changes to the junction would cut congestion and make it safer for drivers and pedestrians

More than 660 trees have also been planted in the area as part of the overall work.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, the local authority's deputy leader, said: "We would like to thank everyone involved in working on this scheme, along with people's ongoing patience while this essential project was carried out.

"Although it's great to see this project complete, we're conscious that there's still a lot of other work taking place around the city and we are working hard to deliver these as swiftly as possible while minimising disruption wherever we can."

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