THE four lanes of dual carriageway between Temple and Higher Carblake on the A30 officially opened on Friday.

Long delays for motorists and queues of up to nine miles during peak season will be a thing of the past, with the improvement expected to bring big tourism benefits to Cornwall, as well as open up access for business investment and economic growth.

During its busiest time this section carried around 40,000 vehicles a day, with the annual cost of delays due to congestion for business, residents and visitors using the route estimated to cost more than £235-million a year.

The completion of the scheme is expected to bring more than £134-million into the Cornish economy each year, and play a role in the future prosperity of Cornwall by encouraging economic growth and aiding regeneration, business expansion and housing delivery, and supporting tourism.

Led by Cornwall Council, in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT) and Highways England, the £59-million project has replaced the 4.5km stretch of road with a new dual carriageway.

The council said by funding the £4-million costs of designing and proposing a scheme, which significantly cut the cost of previous proposals, and then contributing £10-million to ensure the delivery of the revised scheme, its involvement ‘helped to significantly bring forward the construction of the dual carriageway’.

Councillor Geoff Brown, Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “This is a great day for Cornwall. The opening of the A30 at Bodmin Moor means better access, faster journey times, less traffic on local roads and millions of pounds in economic benefits for Cornwall. It will also enable our emergency services to travel to incidents more quickly.

“This is an excellent example of how the council, the Dual the A30 Action Group, Highways England and the Department for Transport have worked together and not only delivered a project five years sooner than expected, but have saved nearly £60-million for taxpayers.

“I would like to thank local residents and visitors for their patience while the roadworks were underway. In particular, the small settlements and communities across Bodmin Moor who have long campaigned for the A30 dualling and who will notice a big difference as congestion eases and fewer drivers take detours through narrow country lanes through the local villages.”

The project includes the construction of three bridges — at Cardinham, Preeze Cross, and Temple Tor. The bridge at Cardinham is expected to open within two weeks and the third bridge at Temple Tor is due to open during September.

The council said around 70% of residents in Cornwall and more than 80% of workers are based to the west of Temple, with more than three quarters of businesses surveyed at the start of the scheme predicting that it would have a positive impact on their business, and almost half saying it would result in increased investment and employment in their company.

The development and construction of the scheme has drawn upon a range of Cornish businesses and craftsmen, with CORMAC leading on the early designs, environmental assessments and funding bids for the new road. Cornwall Council and its contractors have worked closely with the Environment Agency and other members of the Local Nature Partnership to ensure that pollution is minimised and the natural environment is protected during this scheme.

Since construction on the dual carriageway began in June 2015 contractors Kier have cut around 300,000 tons of earth, equivalent to filling 226 Olympic sized swimming pools, and laid around 130,000 m² of tarmac, the equivalent of surfacing 18 Wembley sized football pitches and 15,000 metres of vehicle safety barrier, equivalent to the distance between Chiverton Cross to Mitchell.

Steve Mack, senior project manager for contractors Kier, said: “We’re proud to have delivered the dualling of the A30, which is a strategically important scheme for Cornwall. It’s going to offer huge benefits to visitors and the local community alike, reducing congestion and helping people to go about their journeys — whether it’s a daily commute or a once a year trip — stress-free.”

Henry Kendall, treasurer of Dual the A30 Action Group, said: “The new stretch of road enables holiday makers to leave Cornwall with a sense of enjoyment and not frustration at having to sit in their cars for hours on end, while it will also improve business opportunities and help tourism.

“We’ve worked with Cornwall Council and Nigel Blackler on the project and we’d like to thank Dan Rogerson (former North Cornwall MP) for giving us the chance to speak to officials and the transport ministries to get the project started.

“My final thanks goes to Kier for a great piece of engineering and making the road 1,000 times better than it was before.”