City shines light on future as £2bn roads project to begin

A FIRST glimpse of what a typical Sheffield street will look like, after £2bn has been spent on improving the city’s roads and pavements, was revealed for the first time yesterday.

Contractor Amey, which is carrying out the works under the Streets Ahead project for Sheffield Council, built a life-size mock-up of a street at the Lifewise Centre in Hellaby, Rotherham.

The purpose-built street shows what Sheffield’s roads will look like once all the roads and pavements have been resurfaced and the new energy-efficient LED street lights have been installed. It is also hoped that the improvements will make neighbourhoods safer.

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Steve Robinson, Sheffield Council’s head of highway maintenance for the Streets Ahead contract, said Sheffield could be a “global trendsetter”.

He added: “We believe Sheffield will be the first fully LED-lit city in the world thanks to the technology in our street lights.

“We have known for many years that the state of the city’s roads and pavements has been the number one issue with residents and businesses across the city and that is why the city council is investing £2bn over 25 years to improve and maintain them.

“Since we announced this contract we have had numerous people ask us what the finished result will look like.

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“This was the first opportunity for us to demonstrate how a finished street will look.”

The first areas of Sheffield to be improved, with roadworks starting this month or early next month are Shiregreen, Ewden and Carbrook.