Gloucestershire roads need at least another £100m worth of resurfacing work – a task with a four-year investment target, according to a draft council paper.
A plan for a post-pandemic county takes the road network on a journey for which resurfacing is the start – with a pitch that residents will ‘feel the difference on their doorstep,’ reports Gloucestershire Live.
Gloucestershire County Council has confirmed work is underway with partners to attract the necessary investment to make schemes happen.
The council said the schemes will include:
- Upgrading M5 Junction 10 to support future housing and business projections
- Work on the A417 ‘missing link’
- Improving capacity on Gloucester’s south-west bypass to ease travel within the city
- Start the West of Cheltenham Transport Infrastructure Scheme to support the town’s Cyber Central project
- Funding to improve M5 Junction 9 and re-routing of the A46 away from Ashchurch to help deliver the Garden Town proposals
- A wide programme of highway maintenance including of drainage, road markings, bridges, traffic signals, verges and more
The council paper – a draft Building Back Better in Gloucestershire strategy that takes the county to 2026 – puts an emphasis on road resurfacing and the extra £100m needed to ensure a ‘more resilient’ network requiring fewer repairs.
Over the past four years, work has been done on some 700 schemes across the county resulting in 507 miles of new surface.
The latest goal targets at least another 500 miles of network over the next four years.
“We know there is more to do and we now need to widen our focus to include minor roads. While these roads are generally quieter, they are close to where people live, work or go to school. By improving these roads, residents will feel the difference on their doorstep,” the council said.
The council has successfully secured funding from Homes England for the upgrade of M5 Junction 10 to improve access to and from the motorway northbound and southbound to a new link road into Cheltenham.
This project complements Local Enterprise Partnership funding towards the West of Cheltenham Transport Infrastructure Scheme at M5 Junction 11 and the A40.
