Two key appointments have been made to the board tasked with overseeing the £35 million Ely Southern Bypass project.

At a meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Economy and Environment Committee on Tuesday, County Councillor Michael Rouse, member for Ely North and East, was appointed to the Ely Southern Bypass Project Board.

A non-local member of the Economy and Environment Committee was also nominated for the board.

The Project Board, which will report to the Economy and Environment Committee, is made up of financial, technical and operational officers from the county council, senior officers from East Cambridgeshire District Council, key stakeholders including Network Rail and at least one member from both county and district Councils.

The council is hopeful work will be completed on the bypass by November 2017.

The report said: “The scheme will provide significant benefits to road users by reducing delays to road traffic, including commercial vehicles.

“It will provide significant opportunity for improvement to the station area and facilitate increased use of the railway line, especially freight traffic.”