Missing Link Upgrade to bring in lorry lane
THE days of being stuck behind lorries going up the A417 Crickley Hill would be at an end under the £460m Missing Link upgrade.
The project would see a dedicated lorry crawler lane on the uphill stretch, National Highways has said.
The road up from the M5 and A46 junctions at Brockworth would also have its gradient up to Birdlip reduced. At the moment the steepest stretches can make lorries crawl. HGV breakdowns are also commonplace, adding to traffic woes as all vehicles have to pass the stricken vehicle.
At present there are two lanes going up the hill and one lane coming down. Traffic can make its slow way up the hill towards the Air Balloon roundabout, but traffic heading down can be tempted to speed in the single-carriageway until it turns into dual-carriageway at the bottom.
The project would see three lanes going up and two lanes down. Work is due to start in 2023 on the Missing Link project that would see a new 3.4m dual-carriageway linking the Air Balloon and Cowley roundabouts.
The existing A417 stretch of singlecarriageway through Birdlip would become a traffic-free zone dedicated to walkers, horse-riders and cyclists. Traffic heading from Gloucestershire towards Wiltshire would stay on a dualcarriageway that would bypass the Air Balloon roundabout, which will remain for local traffic heading to the A436 and Leckhampton.