County council leader Steve Count praised the Welsh engineering company building the £32m King’s Dyke crossing at Whittlesey for using local workers and local suppliers.

So far, he says, the company has pumped three-quarters of a million pounds into the local economy.

It includes everything from hiring road sweepers and a local food van to buying concrete from a Whittlesey company.

Cllr Count said: “It is excellent news that King’s Dyke is boosting the local economy during construction, with opportunities for local suppliers like PJ Thory and Gemmix, as well as providing jobs for residents.

“These are companies who know the area well and local people will benefit from the new route, so long may it continue.”

Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK of North Wales was appointed by Cambridgeshire County Council to the scheme in Whittlesey.

The project, which includes a new road and bridge over the Ely to Peterborough railway line, is due open to traffic by December 2022.

Rhydian Hafal, Jones Bros construction manager, said: “It’s really important for us to be able to ensure the positive impact of our work is as big as it can be, and using local suppliers who know the lay of the land is one of the best ways of doing that.

“We will continue to work hard to engage suppliers who are based close to the site.”

PJ Thory has been delivering locally sourced aggregate to the site.

Martin Ash, sales manager at PJ Thory, said: “It’s really important for us to be involved in this project as we work in the area that will benefit most from the new route.

“We’re familiar with these types of schemes, having grown ourselves to be one of the region’s largest suppliers to the construction, agricultural and commercial industries.

“We introduced ourselves to Jones Bros at pre-start meetings and expressed how keen we were to work with the company and on this project.

“Consequently, we have been one of the first supply chain partners on site since May.

“So far, our drivers have provided stone for the compound and car park and supplied drainage materials, and this will continue throughout the duration of the scheme.”

The concrete for the structures is being supplied by Whittlesey-based Gemmix. More than 350m3 has been delivered to site to date for use within the bridge foundations, underpass base slab and services protection slabs.

From Peterborough, suppliers have included Mick George Skip hire, road sweepers from Go Plant, gatemen and cleaners from Feden Services and a food van from Bretton Caterers.

Steel reinforcement for the structures were sourced from The Roe Group and general building materials have been supplied by Ridgeons.

In addition, drainage stone came from Creeton Quarry while Star Pit stone will be sourced from South Witham Quarry. Other materials have also been sourced from Buildbase in Whittlesey.

Further recruitment has also resulted in a site agent from Cambridge joining the £32m development as well as two site operatives from Whittlesey.