It looks like deadlock has been broken in the saga of the “dead end junction” on the M49 near Bristol.

The junction at Severn Beach was built nearly two years ago to serve a distribution centre but hasn’t been opened because of a disagreement over who was responsible for connecting it to the road network.

Bristol Live reports that South Gloucestershire Council said the business park’s owners, Delta Properties, were responsible for building the link road, but the company has refuted the claim saying it has “no legal obligation” to provide it. The council then said Delta and National Highways were responsible.

Now, the newspaper and website reports, the council has made a decision behind closed doors following the receipt of a confidential report about options for getting the link road built that it was “to approve the officer recommendations to deliver the link road to join the new M49 junction with the local highway network”.

No other details have been given but a decision is due “in the next few days”.

(Picture shows the closed slip road off the M49, courtesy Google Streetview)