A LONG awaited scheme to allow people to safely cross a busy trunk road could finally be moving forward - although funding for the £5m plan "has not yet been identified."

Proposals for a new crossing over the A629 Aire Valley trunk road have been in the planning stages for years.

At a meeting of West Yorkshire Combined Authority's Investment Committee tomorrow members will discuss the crossing - which will be in the form of a £5.52m pedestrian and cycle bridge.

While the committee will be asked to progress the long awaited project to the "full business case" stage - members will hear that it is still not clear how the work will be funded.

It will include a bridge over the western arm of the A629 roundabout, and a pedestrian and cycle path from the bridge to the Leeds Liverpool Canal and Steeton and Silsden Rail Station.

The bridge will be five metres wide to comply with government guidance for designing high-quality, safe cycle infrastructure.

A report to the committee says the dual carriageway, a national speed limit road, acts as a barrier between Steeton and Silsden, with no controlled crossing points.

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Highlighting the lack of any existing crossing facility, the report says: "The next alternative crossing point is and around an eight kilometres journey to the East or seven kilometres to the West."

It adds: "Despite only making up 12 per cent of traffic movements in the corridor between Steeton and Silsden, pedestrians are disproportionally represented in accident figures, making up 50 per cent of all incidents.

"This disproportionality is also seen with cyclists. Although making up only 0.07 per cent of total traffic movements, they are involved in 12.5 per cent of collisions."

The lack of a controlled crossing space also means most people travel between the two villages by car. Just 11 per cent of commuter journeys between Steeton and Silsden were on foot, and only 1 per cent were by bike.

Around 17 per cent of households in the villages have no car access, and the report adds: "This figure rises to 50 per cent in some areas of Silsden. It is also these areas which represent the most deprived areas of Silsden. All of which means that the poorest members of the community are more likely to have to risk the dangerous conditions or spend money they are less likely to have on public transport/taxi to access the opportunities in Steeton."

However, the report adds: "Currently no funding has been identified to deliver the scheme. Bradford Council intends to develop the scheme to a “shovel ready” project, so it will be ready for delivery once funding has been secured."

The committee meets in City Exchange, Leeds at 11am on Tuesday.