The opening of Ely Southern Bypass will see the closure of the level crossing and traffic lights installed in a bid to make “significant improvements” to the area, it has been announced.

Highways bosses say this part of the project aims to “discourage” through traffic from using the underpass and encourage use of the new bypass.

The traffic using the existing underpass at the low railway bridge will be single file and controlled by the lights.

It comes as Cambridgeshire County Council say there has been a “clear desire” to improve conditions in the area of the underpass and station for pedestrians and cyclists.

However, residents have raised concerns about the impact on traffic and delays.

A council spokesperson said: “We expect from traffic impact studies we’ve carried out; the majority of vehicles on the A142 will use the new road, greatly reducing the number of vehicles using the underpass.

“The waiting times at the proposed signals will therefore be short compared to the existing delays caused by the level crossing and make journey times much more reliable.

“We understand there are concerns amongst local residents about the traffic being single file and the use of traffic lights and we can assure you these concerns were considered in our traffic impact studies.

“It is estimated the traffic lights will result in a maximum queue delay of 27 seconds per vehicle and vehicles will only wait once at a red light.

“We have taken residents’ concerns into account and changed elements of the design to minimise delays by making sure the lights are activated by vehicle detectors, which means they will respond as vehicles approach and at times when there is no demand the lights will show red in both directions which will allow them to respond more quickly.”

The stop lines will also be closer together to reduce the time that a driver will need to wait.

An update on the changes that will be implemented as part of the scheme – the principles of which were agreed as part of the Ely Bypass planning application - and an opportunity for people to ask questions or make comments on the project can be raised by July 31.

The bypass is expected to open October 2018.

Visit www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ely-bypass for more information.