It was the multi-million road scheme which supercharged travel for motorists in the 1980s.
Sheepscar Interchange was first approved in 1980 and opened in June 1983 at a cost of £4.5 million.
The first cars moved onto a section of the Interchange in February 1983 with your Yorkshire Evening Post on hand to capture the ‘ready, steady, go’ moment on camera.
A West Yorkshire Metro bus inspector stood on one of the traffic islands at the junction with Sheepscar Street South, making it clear to bus drivers which route they should be on. One set of traffic lights used on the temporary route were lifted away on a forklift truck just moments before the new lights were switched on.
Your YEP reported how the whole operation went “very smoothly and without confusion” but warned of problems ahead of commuters from the Harrogate, Wetherby and Chapeltown directions converging on the new route for the first time.
Traffic from existing routes on North Street, the link road between Roundhay Road and North Street, and part of Chapeltown Road, had been diverted onto the new carriageway. Traffic from Harrogate, Wetherby Road would enter the city via the new road and Clay Pit Lane. Those wishing to reach the Regent Street area were to leave the new road via a slip road which connected the existing Chapeltown Road.
“Initially there is going to be some confusion,“ admitted a West Yorkshire County Council spokesman at the time. “But it does mean motorists won’t have to make decisions at the Barrack Street-Barrack Road junction.” He also warned motorists there was no right turn to Meanwood with his message to all drivers using the new sections: “follow the signs“
The project came at a cost to the area’s heritage with the Roscoe Place Methodist Chapel and The Roscoe pub both demolished as part of development plans.
The scheme also impacted Sheepscar Post Office leaving it isolated and customers finding it increasingly difficult to access owing to yellow lines and safety railings.
* Did you travel along Sheepscar Interchange when it first opened in 1983? Share your memories with Andrew Hutchinson via email at: [email protected] or tweet him - @AndyHutchYPN
