Survey work to start on A417 scheme near Gloucester

Plans include a 37m wide crossing, allowing users of the Gloucestershire Way to cross the improved A417 safely

Surveys for a £460m plan to improve a notorious traffic bottleneck and accident blackspot will begin in the next few weeks.

The A417 scheme near Gloucester will bypass the Air Balloon roundabout and should sort out delays up Crickley Hill.

Archaeological and environmental surveys will take about six months before ground is broken in the autumn.

It is hoped the new stretch of road will open in summer 2026.

Project director Michael Goddard said drivers would not notice much difference for quite some time.

"A lot of it [survey work] will be in farm land and the land surrounding the current road, so you might see people in high-vis," he said.

"There will be some work on the road itself as well and there will be some traffic management, so cones and signs going out, but everything will be publicised well in advance, the majority of the work though will be away from the road."

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

Two extra lanes will be added to the road and the gradient down Crickley Hill will be reduced from 10% to 8%.

Under the approved set of plans 3.4 miles (5.5km) of new dual carriageway built.

It will follow the route of the current A417 but will swing away before it reaches the Air Balloon roundabout.

Mr Goddard said they were looking forward to starting work on the scheme, which he said would bring millions to the Gloucestershire economy.

"In terms of spend in the local region, we are looking at putting in a couple of hundred million pounds into the Gloucestershire region.

"So in terms of scale it is a large commercial venture, in terms of the number of people on site, I am anticipating between 400-500 people potentially working on site and a management team of somewhere between 80 to 100 people as well."