Bottle neck traffic congestion at a level crossing in Whittlesey is set to be a thing of the past with a £13 million flyover bridge due to be built over the railway line.

Cambs Times: Kings Dyke crossing.Kings Dyke crossing. (Image: Archant)

Local people will have a say on three options for the siting of the bridge at King’s Dyke - it can either go over the current site of the level crossing, re-routed to the south or off to the north.

The go ahead has been given for a public consultation and in November residents will have a say on which is their preferred option.

It is hoped the chosen scheme will be ready for construction in 2016.

The Cambridgeshire County Council Economy and Environment Committee heard that around 12,000 cars use the crossing a day but this can swell to 17,000 if the nearby North Bank is closed to flooding.

At the same time there are around 120 train movements meaning the level crossing is often closed to traffic on a main route in and out of Fenland.

Congestion is expected to rise as more train services are forecast to use the crossing.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor Ian Bates, Chairman of the Economy and Environment Committee, said: “The Committee unanimously agreed to recommend the three options go forward for public consultation.

“This level crossing is a real bottleneck and can cause traffic chaos, especially when the North Bank is flooded. We are glad to be able to work with partners to bring this scheme forward which will not only help traffic flow but help improve the local economy.”

A study into solutions for King’s Dyke crossing identified seven solutions but only three were considered workable on an engineering basis.

These will now be consulted on. They are:

Building partly on the current road line, to run alongside the existing highway, keeping one or more main line traffic lanes flowing under traffic control during construction.

Off line alignment to the north.

Off line alignment to the south.