Work to build Bristol's A38 link road begins. (BBC News 03/04/2010)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Work has begun on a new dual carriageway as part of a major housing and business development in Bristol.

The East-West link road will run from the Royal Mail depot on the A38 in Patchway to Cribbs Causeway.

The South West Regional Development Agency has agreed ^6m of funding for the project, described as completing a "missing link" for drivers.

A spokesman said the housing and business scheme will provide 2,200 new homes and create up to 3,000 new jobs.

New school

He said the development, which will be called Charlton Hayes, will also provide a new school.

The road, which is hoped to be completed in 2011, will connect the A38 through Filton and Patchway to the M5 and Cribbs Causeway.

It is part of the Northfield development on land to the north of Filton airfield.

Ian Piper, South West RDA^▸ (Regional Development Agency) director of development and regeneration, said: "At the moment there is a missing link between the A38 through Filton and Patchway and the M5 and Cribbs Causeway.

"This investment will allow the developer to build the road now - before the homes and business facilities are built."

[moonrakerz]

Hmmmm !

I just wonder what this will do to the M5 Cribbs junction. That can get pretty congested even now; with a new dual carriageway feeding into the new development  and acting as a "short cut" across to the A38 I can see even bigger queues forming on the M5.

[plymothian]

There's already a dual carriageway link around Cribbs to Patchway 

[moonrakerz]

There's already a dual carriageway link around Cribbs to Patchway 

In that case - why build another   

Joking aside - the existing road is not very good, narrow bits, traffic lights and it doesn't exactly go around Cribbs, it goes right through it. My concern is about the amount of traffic drawn off the M5 at Cribbs onto the shops, the old link AND the new link.

[Btline]

Any road developments in this area can only be a good thing! It can be a nightmare at any time of day (esp during holidays).

The longest motorway queue ever recorded in Britain started around here.