Highways England has set out details of a £200m package of improvements across its South West region in the current financial year.
The government-owned company said the cash, part of the second Road Investment Strategy, will fund vital infrastructure and boost both connections and local economies as we build back better from the pandemic.
Highways England said that in total it will spend £200m during the financial year into more than 121 schemes across Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall.
Regional director Andrew Page-Dove said: ’With this investment, Highways England will continue to deliver the essential maintenance and upgrades throughout the region to improve safety and help keep drivers on the move.’
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
Bridge works at Junction 11 of the M56
Highways England said it had invested a similar amount in the South West last year; this year's plans include upgrades, such as an additional lane on the M5, whereas the company said last year’s ‘essential maintenance programme’ saw it spend £200m on renewal and maintenance projects.
From April 2020 to March 2021 the company resurfaced nearly 200 miles of road throughout the region – ‘the equivalent of nearly 16,000 double-decker buses parked back-to-back’ – along with the renewal of 42 miles of barriers, 950 miles of road markings and 31 miles of drainage.
It also installed more than 91,000 road studs, 150 lights and 29 new traffic lights, along with installing 93 new traffic signs, while staff inspected 22,000 road signs, carried out 12,500 miles of walked inspections and inspected all electrical assets.
