Engineers have been scaling the heights to carry out strengthening work on steep slopes above Gloucester as part of National Highways’ A417 Missing Link scheme.

Running up and over the Cotswolds escarpment in dramatic Jurassic limestone cuttings, the landscape-led scheme is creating a free-flowing 3.5-mile dual carriageway link between the Brockworth bypass and the
Cowley roundabout in Gloucestershire.

Navigating the escarpment, which has one of the highest inland concentrations of landslides in the country, has presented the company and contractor Kier with one of its biggest engineering challenges.

Two deep cuttings – 50 metres wide and up to 19 metres in height – have been excavated through the limestones to make way for a half-mile section of the new road.

And following excavation, a team of dentitions from engineering specialists GT Jones are now climbing the escarpment with safety ropes to clear loose material from the rock faces and repair and strengthen any faults and voids.

(Picture: National Highways)