Road dubbed Britain's wonkiest set to reopen

One side of a road has been pushed up by a landslip under it and it resembles a skate ramp. In the distance, a large dip can be seen in another section of the route alongside a large crack in the road's surface.
Image caption,

The road was closed after a major landslip in February 2022

  • Published

A road dubbed Britain's wonkiest is set to reopen three years after it was ripped up by a major landslip.

The B4069 at Lyneham Banks, Wiltshire, was closed in February 2022, but is set to reopen on Wednesday.

The work, which included constructing a 108m-long retaining wall and cost £5m, was completed by Octavius on behalf of Wiltshire Council.

Wiltshire councillor Alison Bucknell said: "It has been a long, slow journey to get to where we are today."

During the work, the slope above and beyond the roadway was regraded, with drainage systems also installed beneath the new carriageway and on the new hillside.

"I would like to pay tribute to all of the officers and contractors who have worked on this project, and to the residents and businesses who have had to put up with a huge amount of inconvenience," Ms Bucknell added.

A ripped-up section of road which has been spray painted in orange, blue and yellow paint. The road is no longer a flat, smooth surface and instead goes up and down with dozens of cracks in it of varying sizes.
Image caption,

The road was previously used by more than 5,000 vehicles a day

She said while residents have asked for an official opening, there will be "no balloons, no fanfare, no drumroll".

"The most important thing is that we can get our lives back to "normal" as soon as possible," she said.

She said the whole situation had been "simply horrendous".

Before its closure, the road was used by more than 5,000 vehicles a day.

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