More dualling on route to the sun

A FURTHER upgrade to the vital A303 road, which links London and the Westcountry, has got the go-ahead from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

The formal green light has been given to a plan to create three miles of high-quality dual carriageway on the road between Sparkford and Ilchester, Somerset.

The upgrade will tackle congestion on the traffic-clogged single carriageway section of the arterial route.

On an average day, the road carries 23,500 vehicles, but numbers increase significantly in the summer, particularly at weekends, making journeys unreliable and unpredictable.

The announcement comes just two months after the Transport Secretary gave the go-ahead for another congestion-busting scheme further west along the A303 – the project to dual the route between Amesbury and Berwick Down, past Stonehenge, creating a tunnel under the World Heritage Site.

Together, the upgrades will unlock economic growth and improve journey times and reliability between the M3 and M5, supporting the economy.

Highways England Acting Chief Executive Nick Harris said: “We welcome the Secretary of State’s decision to upgrade the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester.”

Upgrades to the A303 represent the biggest investment in UK roads for a generation.

The scheme will support economic growth and more housing by creating a free-flowing and reliable connection between the South East and the South West.