New Minster Quarter Access Road opens to traffic as part of improvements to Sunderland city centre

Sunderland’s new Minster Quarter Access Road has officially opened to motorists.
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The road welcomed traffic for the first time on Wednesday September, 4 – with improved waiting and pick-up areas for coaches and equipment trucks also created.

Vehicles can now exit directly onto St Mary's Boulevard in the hopes to reduce local congestion and traffic queues on High Street West.

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The works cost around £500,000 and are part of the £1.5billion package of city-wide public and private sector investment.

The access road is officially openThe access road is officially open
The access road is officially open

These projects for Sunderland are planned over the next five years.

Councillor Amy Wilson, Sunderland City Council's Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: "The new road helps the traffic movements around this part of the city centre, building on the success of the Sunderland Empire, the Fire Station development and the forthcoming Sunderland Auditorium.

"The road is helping to manage all the traffic here and improving the area for pedestrians. Importantly, too, there is enough flexibility in the works to link them conveniently into the auditorium and more development schemes in the future.

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"All these works are about improving our city for residents, visitors, businesses and about attracting more investment. Here, next to the Empire, we're complementing established and developing cultural attractions as we look to the future."

Paving, planting and landscaping is still planned to take place at Garden Place and in High Street West.

The Minster Quarter Masterplan hopes to support leisure and cultural facilities.