Drivers warned of closures for 'Missing Link' work

The A417 will be closed across two upcoming weekends

Drivers have been warned to plan ahead as roadworks will close a major road for two weekends.

The A417 in Gloucester will be closed between the Air Balloon roundabout and the A429 Burford roundabout from 23:00 BST on Friday to 06:00 on Monday and from 23:00 on 1 August to 06:00 on 4 August.

The closure will enable work to take place on the so-called 'Missing Link' between Gloucester, Swindon and Cirencester – a new £460m three-mile (4.8km) dual carriageway that is hoped to ease traffic.

National Highways said it had worked to keep disruption to a minimum but advised people to plan ahead and allow extra time for journeys.

Fully-signed diversion routes will be in operation throughout the closure.

A northbound section of the A419 will also be closed for resurfacing work between the Turnpike Junction and Cricklade from 20:00 to 06:00 on Monday.

The A417 roadworks this weekend include constructing utility chambers under the road to maintain power supplies for nearby communities.

Steve Foxley, Missing Link programme manager for National Highways, said the works were part of preparations for "the big switch" in spring – when traffic is moved from the old A417 to the newly-built road.

He said: "This weekend, the work is realigning sections of the road around the existing Cowley Roundabout, doing some resurfacing work to replace what we dig out while we do that work, and starting to build the new Cowley Interchange itself.

"We can't push it back, we've got quite a strict programme we're trying to achieve.

"All of this is building blocks to the big event in early spring."