Work to start on £50m link road

Doncaster county council is set to sign a contract with Carillion to build an important link road between the city’s Robin Hood Airport and the M18 motorway.

Once the council cabinet rubber stamps its adviser’s recommendation to sign up Carillion, the contractor will build the 3-mile Finningley and Rossington Regeneration Route Scheme.

The £50m FARRS scheme won Government cash backing for its potential to galvanise further development of Robin Hood Airport, the Strategic Rail Freight Interchange proposal adjacent to Junction 3 of the M18, as well as the reclamation of Rossington Colliery.

Much of the new highway will be built across low lying open farm land to the north of Rossington and will connect the M18 motorway with the the A638 Great North Road and B6463 Sheep Bridge Lane, known locally as Parrot’s Corner.

The risk of flooding means that most of the highway will be raised on an embankment, needing 700,000 cu m of fill material.

The first 1 mile  from the motorway is designed as dual carriageway, with the remaining 2 miles from a new Rossington roundabout to Parrot’s Corner single carriageway.

The scheme also includes a 1km spur from the roundabout to the former Rossington Colliery.

Reclamation and redevelopment of the colliery site is due to start next year. This will include the recovery of coal from the colliery spoil tips and development of an eco-village.

Several structures will be needed on the route, including crossings over the Brancliffe to Kirk Sandall railway line and the East Coast Main Line and two subways to maintain public  access for vehicles and pedestrians.

There will also be extensive ditch and flood relief culverts as well as attenuation ponds built to control discharges into the local watercourses.