NEW pictures reveal what two new flyovers to separate traffic to Gatwick Airport from other vehicles will look like if approved as part of plans to open a second runway.
Plans for the airport to bring its northern runway into regular use include proposals to improve three major road junctions to minimise the impact of additional passengers on local residents and road users.
Two new flyovers would be constructed to keep local traffic separate from airport traffic, with improvements planned for the Longbridge roundabout in Horley, to add capacity and ease traffic flow.
Tim Norwood, chief planning officer at Gatwick Airport, said: “The airport’s northern runway plans will support the airport’s sustainable growth, improve resilience and, in turn, help generate 18,400 additional jobs.
“While this is fantastic news for the local region and economy, we appreciate local residents have concerns around the additional traffic this could create on our roads.
“We expect to continue to increase the already high percentage of passengers and staff who travel by public transport, but some road improvements will still be necessary, as local traffic is expected to increase as well as airport-related trips.
“These proposals will not only increase capacity, but will also provide significant improvements to traffic flow around the airport and for local residents accessing the M23 and Horley, resulting in a far superior local road network.”
The first flyover is planned for the South Terminal roundabout, taking through-traffic above the existing roundabout by raising the M23 Spur/Airport Way, with a new flyover to carry westbound traffic from Airport Way, from the South Terminal and M23, to the A23 towards Horley to allow local traffic to bypass the North Terminal roundabout.
New entry and exit points are also proposed at the North Terminal roundabout to allow direct access via a signalised junction from the airport onto the A23 southbound towards Crawley.
A six-week consultation on the proposed highway changes closes on July 27, with more information available on Gatwick Airport’s website.
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