The Glasgow City Region Cabinet has approved investment of £61.9 million for the Ravenscraig Infrastructure Access (RIA) project and is matching this with £65.3 million over six years.

A total of £127.2 million is therefore being invested in:

• A new dual carriageway from the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility to Motherwell, crossing the west coast main line railway, with new provision for walking, cycling and wheeling throughout;
• Anew roundabout with traffic signals at Airbles Road and Windmillhill Street, connecting to the dual carriageway;
• Completion of the dualling of Airbles Road; and
• The dualling of the A723 from Ravenscraig to the M8.

The RIA is a key component part of North Lanarkshire Council’s Plan Lanarkshire Orbital Route, combined with investment currently underway at Motherwell Town Centre Interchange and the future East Airdrie Link Road, to create a transformational road and infrastructure travel spine through North Lanarkshire.

The Pan Lanarkshire Orbital Route will improve connectivity from Motherwell to Cumbernauld across a range of transport modes and support better movement between towns and communities. It will create an active travel highway for cyclists, runners and walkers to navigate safely across the area. These plans will impact positively on the environment and road safety locally, removing traffic congestion points in neighbouring communities, such as the A73 at Chapelhall, and helping to improve air quality.

Within the Ravenscraig site itself, the RIA is one of a number of infrastructure projects the council is working to deliver, including a new seven hectare park which is currently under construction and, working with Sustrans, plans for new cycling and walking links to Craigneuk, Wishaw and New College Lanarkshire Motherwell campus.

The regeneration of the overall Ravenscraig site is a key element of the council’s vision for the area, which will see £3.5 billion invested over the next 10 years, creating around 12,000 jobs and generating an additional £1 billion for the local economy.

The next stage in the RIA project will be submission of a planning application for the southern connections to Motherwell and the M74, which will include a public consultation.