Plymouth City Council is reporting that work on the first phase of the Woolwell to The George transport improvement scheme is progressing well and remains on schedule.

The work affects the sole entrance and exit to Woolwell, two-thirds of which is in the South Hams.

All major utility diversions have now been completed and work on the new junction at Woolwell Crescent continues, with preparations now being made to build the new toucan crossing on Tavistock Road.

This will involve reducing a short section of the outbound side of Tavistock Road to one lane until the summer.

The lane closure, which will protect the workforce as they construct the new crossing and drainage and then work on the central reservation, will be in place from Monday April 28, with traffic management being put out overnight on Sunday April 27.

It was originally programmed for February but postponed to March and now later this month, so they could make some minor scheme design changes to avoid diverting utility services under the footpath.

They have also made a start on the new retaining wall on the east side of Tavistock Road (alongside Tesco).

The wall allows them to widen and create the space to build the new two-way segregated cycle track.

Plans to complete works on Woolwell Road, which include installing the permanent toucan crossing signals and new street lighting, are also being finalised.

They are currently programmed for June and, to avoid significant impacts on traffic flow, will be overnight.

Final dates will be confirmed closer to the time.

Preparations for phase two, which involves widening Tavistock Road between Woolwell Roundabout and the George Park and Ride, as well as the replacement of Woolwell Roundabout with a new signalised junction, are also under way and works are planned to start on site later this year.

As part of this they have been carrying out targeted investigations, with specialist support, to decide whether it might be possible to retain some of the trees currently identified for removal.

This work is part of our ongoing efforts to reduce the impact of the scheme as much as possible and find alternative solutions where they can.

The Woolwell to The George scheme has been in the pipeline for many years.

It will tackle one of Plymouth’s worst traffic bottlenecks and is a vital part of the programme to provide better links to and from the north of Plymouth as it grows.

Around 2,000 new homes are set to be built in Woolwell following approval from South Hams planners.

The approval is for two schemes- A with around 1,640 homes and B with around 360 homes.

In the coming years a total of around 4,400 new homes are planned in the north of the city – including 2,000 new homes at the Woolwell Urban Extension.

This and other developments, such as the new district shopping centre in Derriford, will see an increased amount of traffic along this route.

The whole scheme will cost £45 million, which includes £24.9 million of UK Government funding to support delivery of these vital improvements.