A long-awaited road upgrade to address a "missing link" along a major route through the West Country has been given the green light by the government.
Transport minister Huw Merriman, acting for transport secretary Mark Harper, has approved the project along the A417 between Gloucester and Swindon, which helps to connect the Midlands and North of England to the South.
The £460m scheme will aim to improve the connection between two dual carriageway sections of the A417 at Brockworth and Cowley, and links between the M4 and M5.
“The missing link” is a three-mile stretch of single-lane carriageway on the A417 between the Brockworth bypass and Cowley roundabout in Gloucestershire. With final approval now in place, work will begin next year to replace it with four miles of new dual carriageway.
National Highways, which awarded the contract for the works to construction firm Keir in April, said the project would deliver “a safe and resilient free-flowing road” which would help conserve the character of the surrounding Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The organisation’s chief executive Nick Harris said: “We’re delighted with the Minister’s decision. This means we can get going with this major upgrade, which is vital for local communities and the regional South West economy.
“We would like to thank everyone who has worked with us to help shape this vital scheme and provided valuable feedback. We will continue to work closely with local communities as we move towards the start of construction in 2023, making sure everyone is kept informed and disruption is kept to a minimum.”
The chief executive of Gloucestershire local enterprise partnership GFirst, David Owen, said the group was “delighted” with the decision, as the 'missing link’ had been “a daily source of delays and frustration” for motorists.
Mr Owen added: “We believe that National Highways has developed an exceptional scheme which will not only resolve the critical transport issues but will minimise the environmental impact locally and, in some aspects, make a positive contribution to the landscape with new bridges for both the Cotswold and Gloucestershire Ways and the re-greening of some of the current route. We very much look forward to seeing the project start on-site in 2023.”
The scheme will see:
- the section to the west of the existing Air Balloon roundabout follow the existing A417 corridor. However, the section to the south and east of the Air Balloon roundabout would be offline, away from the existing road corridor;
- a new junction at Shab Hill, providing a link from the A417 to the A436 towards Oxford and into Birdlip;
- a new junction near Cowley, replacing the existing Cowley roundabout;
- the existing A417 between the Air Balloon roundabout and the Cowley roundabout repurposed with some lengths of existing road converted into a route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, while retaining other sections to maintain local access for residents.
National Highways said in order for wildlife habitats to flourish it would deliver:
- two miles of drystone walls;
- Six miles of hedgerow;
- 25 hectares a of native woodland
- Three hectares of scrub
- Six hectares of neutral grassland
- 75 hectares of calcareous grassland
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