Essential overnight maintenance work on retaining walls along the Leeds Inner Ring Road is due to begin next month, the first phase of a long-term programme to protect one of the city’s most important transport routes.
The works, between Woodhouse Tunnel and Woodhouse Lane, are scheduled to start on Tuesday 1 September and are expected to take around 15 weeks, finishing in November 2026.
They will take place overnight, between 7pm and 5am, to minimise disruption for daytime travellers, using temporary traffic management including lane and road closures where required.
The Inner Ring Road carries more than 90,000 vehicles a day, helping traffic move around the city centre and avoid unnecessary through-journeys, in support of the council’s wider Connecting Leeds ambition for a greener, healthier and more people-focused city.
Many of the retaining walls that support the route were built more than 50 years ago and are approaching or exceeding their original design life; carrying out planned maintenance now is intended to extend their lifespan and reduce the risk of more significant repairs being needed later.
Important transport routes
Councillor Peter Carlill, Leeds City Council’s executive member for transport and planning, said: “The Inner Ring Road is one of Leeds’ most important transport routes, carrying thousands of journeys every day and helping traffic avoid some of our busiest city centre streets. Many of the structures supporting the route were built decades ago and now require investment to ensure they remain safe and reliable for the future.”
He said the works were about taking a planned approach to maintaining infrastructure and reducing the risk of more substantial problems developing, which would help avoid emergency repairs and unplanned closures causing greater disruption in future.
The Inner Ring Road, he said, had a key role in supporting Leeds’ wider transport ambitions, and the council appreciated there would be some temporary disruption while the repairs were carried out, thanking people in advance for their patience and understanding.
A wider programme
The scheme is the first phase of a wider programme of structural maintenance on the Inner Ring Road. Further phases are planned across other sections of the route, with the next expected to begin in early 2027, subject to funding approval, as part of the council’s ongoing programme of preventative maintenance and infrastructure improvements.
Some future schemes may involve larger structures and more extensive traffic management, and the council says it will work with residents, businesses and stakeholders to provide advance information ahead of those works.
Signed diversion routes will be in place where necessary during the current works, and motorists are advised to plan ahead and allow extra time for journeys while they are under way.
Further information, including details of traffic management arrangements, will be available via the Connecting Leeds website and communications channels.
