Delay over A417 Gloucestershire 'missing link' road plans

A decision on plans to improve a notorious accident hotspot, known as the "missing link", may be delayed for a further six months.

The A417 dual carriageway has been the scene of a number of fatal crashes where it becomes a single lane.

It runs between Gloucester, Cirencester and Swindon with traffic congested at the Air Balloon roundabout.

Highways England was due to announce a preferred route in November but said this now might not happen until 2019.

The delay has come about because the project has now been deemed a "tier one" scheme, meaning central government is taking a greater interest in the scheme development process, the Local Democracy Reporting service said.

The decision means the new £500m route will not be finished until 2024, according to a Cotswold Conservation Board report.

'Frustrating' delay

Campaigner and Liberal Democrat leader Paul Hodgkinson said: "Getting the missing link fixed as quickly as possible is absolutely vital for Gloucestershire.

"Those of us who've campaigned for years to get the gridlock sorted out are happy that the project has started but the latest delay is frustrating.

"The accidents and daily traffic jams are too much to bear."

Part of the A417 at the Air Balloon roundabout near Birdlip is a notorious bottleneck for traffic

Andrew Alcorn, South West Programme Leader for Highways England, said: "In recognition of the scheme's complexity, we need to carry out further engineering, environmental and economic work before we decide the preferred route.

"To allow time for us to complete this, we now anticipate announcing a preferred route in spring 2019, with construction work starting in late 2021, subject to statutory procedures."