Highways England will deliver a £200m package of road improvements across the south west of England over the next few months, a part of the government’s drive to level up transport in regions right across the country
Responsible for motorways and major A-roads, Highways England’s investment will fund vital infrastructure and boost both connections and local economies as we build back better.
Funded from the Government’s Road Investment Strategy, in total Highways England will spend £200m during the financial year into more than 121 of these kinds of schemes across Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall.
This is in addition to the multi-million A30 dualling scheme in Cornwall and A303 dualling scheme in Sparkford which are both under construction.
Road improvement schemes include:
- M5 junction 11 Golden Valley – bridge refurbishment and resurfacing
- M4 junction 15 – additional lane to create improved access to housing and jobs
- M5 between junction 23 and 25 – introducing message signs, incident detection and signalling, queue protection, speed management and enhanced CCTV coverage
- A38 Mowhay bridge – widening the footpath for cyclists and pedestrians
- A40 in Gloucestershire – upgrading six miles of cycleway.
Recent improvements
Highways England completed a local authority project to improve the National Cycleway Network between Cribbs Causeway and Severn Beach, with a scheme also nearing completion on the A36 in Salisbury, while the £2.89m Mowhay project will see the current footbridge modified for both cyclists and walkers, and another project set to start on the A38 in Plymouth.
From April 2020 to March 2021, Highways England resurfaced nearly 200 miles of road improvements throughout the region – the equivalent of nearly 16,000 double decker buses parked back-to-back.
This, along with the renewal of 42 miles of barriers, 950 miles of road markings and 31 miles of drainage, helped ensure motorists in the south west continued moving smoothly and safely.
Scheme likes the M5 junction 11 will help keep the south west connected to the rest of the world, connect people and communities and support industry.
To ensure the roads are safe for all, staff also inspected 22,000 road signs, carried out 12,500 miles of walked inspections and inspected all electrical assets, alleviating the need for unforeseen closures.
With work taking place throughout several lockdowns, Highways England contacted 100,000 people in the region to ensure those who needed to make essential journeys in line with government guidelines, were kept well informed and able to do so.
Along with resurfacing, the company also kept motorists safe with various winter precautions and treatments, and huge investment into driver awareness.
