Winslow cycleway nears completion as East West Rail gets new impetus

The final few furlongs of shared cycleway and footpath are being laid to form the new 5.6 mile Winslow to Buckingham sustainable travel scheme.

And as the surface was being prepared near the site of the proposed new Winslow rail station, Buckinghamshire County Council Transport Cabinet Member Mark Shaw and his Deputy, Paul Irwin, visited to see the progress.

Their visit followed the announcement by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling of fresh impetus for East West Rail, which will link Oxford, Aylesbury, Milton Keynes and Bedford through Winslow, by setting up a single organisation to design and build it.

When the line opens in the early 2020s, the cycleway will provide a valuable ‘green’ travel link direct to the new Winslow station, which it is estimated should handle more than half a million passenger journeys annually by 2031.

Mark said the £2.5 million shared cycleway-footway, paid for from a developer contribution and a Local Growth Fund grant through the Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership,would be an improvement to the county’s travel network.

‘This is an important connection between the two towns which I hope will encourage residents to consider other means of getting around.’ said Mark.

‘I’m very pleased with the speedy progress being made with the cycleway, and I hope that what the Transport Secretary is doing for East West Rail will speed the project so that trains can serve Winslow sooner than later.’

The shared cycleway and footpath is due to be finished by the end of January, by which time the remaining 200 metre section at Winslow will have been surfaced, and kerbing and drainage work at Padbury completed.

Over the whole project more than 2,000 tonnes of recycled stone, and almost 1,700 tonnes of tarmac have been used.