Transpennine Route Upgrade: Yorkshire road to be closed for six months as part of Transpennine Route Upgrade works

A section of Thornhill Road in Dewsbury under the railway bridge will close to vehicles from the start of January to the end of June 2025. The route will remain open to pedestrians. Advance warning signage will be displayed prior to the closures, along with signposted diversions.

The closures are required to enable utility diversions to be completed in the area, which will facilitate wider road and track realignments as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU). Once completed, the rail upgrades will bring line speed improvement, meaning faster services through West Yorkshire and beyond.

Network Rail says good progress has already been made, with several utility diversions already undertaken and a new retaining wall recently installed to stabilise the ground before the new road alignment is built.

Jonathan Hepton, Project Sponsor for TRU said: “Great progress is already being made in Dewsbury, as we look to improve the speed of services through the area.

“These road closures are necessary to facilitate the next series of upgrades. I’d like to urge anyone who uses this route to check roadworks.org for the latest information and the most up to date diversionary routes.”

Businesses and residents will be able to access Thornhill Road while it is partially closed from the A644 Huddersfield Road only, including Child’s Day Play Nursery and Direct Car Credit. Access to Weaving Lane, including to the Suez recycling centre, and to Calder Bank Road will be in place via Webster Hill/Aldams Road & Savile Road, to rejoin Thornhill Road to the south of the rail bridge.

Part of Fall Lane and an additional part of Thornhill Road is also planned to be closed from March to June 2025.

All of these works make up part of the TRU’s broader plans to deliver faster, more frequent trains on a cleaner, greener, more reliable railway between Manchester, Leeds, Huddersfield and York.