Plans unveiled for £2bn South West road investment

Details have been revealed on plans for a £2bn investment in the South West road network, aimed at improving capacity in the region.

The government funding will enable improvements along a series of motorways and A-roads between now and 2021.

This should give road users simpler, faster and more reliable journeys as well as boosting the region’s economy and helping to bring the country closer together.

Highways England, the government-owned company which has responsibility for England’s motorways and major A roads, has now set out its plans.

These include a new junction on the M49 at Avonmouth, improvements to the M5 J23 at Bridgwater and development of a scheme on the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down route that passes Stonehenge, including building a tunnel.

Roads minister Andrew Jones said: “The £2bn investment in the South West of England will significantly improve journeys and help create jobs.

“We’re upgrading key roads like the A303 and A30 and building a new junction on the M49 near Bristol. This will create a new strategic corridor to the South West and complete the dual carriageway into Cornwall so that hardworking families can have better access to jobs, shops and leisure facilities.”

Other plans include an upgrade to an 8.7 mile section of single carriageway on the A30 between Carland Cross and Chiverton Cross roundabouts, dualling the A303 between Sparkford and IIchester, and the A358 from the M5 at Taunton to A303 at Southfields, and an investigation into the benefits of connecting the two dual carriageway sections of the A417 near Birdlip, Gloucestershire.

Source – Insider Media