From Monday 19 September 2016 to Friday 31 March 2017 Station Road will be closed to vehicles while the road bridge over the railway line is demolished and rebuilt to facilitate the electrification of the Midland Main Line Railway.

The University and Students’ Union are keen to minimise the impact of the road closure on the villages of Sutton Bonington and Kingston on Soar, so drivers are encouraged to follow the signed diversion routes wherever possible.

Access for pedestrians and cyclists

A temporary footbridge will enable pedestrians and cyclists to continue using Station Road throughout the works. The only exception to this is Saturday 12 to Monday 14 November – when the existing bridge is scheduled to be demolished.

Changes to Sutton Bonington hopper bus service

The road closure means that hopper bus journeys between Sutton Bonington and Kegworth will be unable to operate as usual. Unfortunately, it is not possible to maintain journeys to/from Kegworth and also maintain the capacity and frequency of journeys between University Park and Sutton Bonington within the existing resource allocation.

Hopper bus journeys between University Park and Sutton Bonington Campus will continue to provide intercampus connectivity, however journeys between Sutton Bonington and Kegworth will be withdrawn for the duration of the road closure – with effect from Monday 19 September. Hopper buses will not stop at East Midlands Parkway station for the duration of the road closure.

Alternatives for travelling between Kegworth and Sutton Bonington campus include:

• Skylink bus service – see Trent Barton’s website for timetables and fares
• Cycling – the University offers various options for hiring a bike. If it’s been a while since you last used your bike, you may want to take it to the Dr Bike on-site maintenance service; the service is free, but you must book in advance – dates are advertised on the University’s Sustainability Facebook and Sustainability Twitter accounts.
• Car sharing – staff can join the University’s car share scheme and students can use the Student Carshare website to search for others doing a similar journey. Both websites suggest that driver and passenger share the cost of fuel and include tools for calculating the passenger’s suggested contribution.

Further information

Further details about Network Rail’s Midland Main Line improvement programme are available from the Network Rail website.