The latest plans to fix 'notorious bottleneck' on A417 in Gloucestershire
This video shows how the A417 upgrade will look.
The Transport Secretary has visited the A417 in Gloucestershire as upgrade work enters its next phase.
Work to replace the road between the Brockworth bypass and Cowley roundabout is expected to cost £460 million and is aimed at alleviating what National Highways calls a 'notorious bottleneck' in the Cotswolds.
The project, known as the 'Missing Link', was given the green light in November 2022.
The road connects the M4 to the M5 and is aimed at easing congestion and improving safety. It is hoped work will be completed in the next three years.
Mark Harper said he has experienced the problems firsthand when working in Swindon.
He said: "I've seen all of the challenges so I've seen the congestion, the lorries breaking down on the very steep gradient and sadly a number of accidents and the impact of them so it's very clear why this road needs to be sorted out."
Work so far has taken place to establish the site and to strip the topsoil.
Up to 100 archaeologists have been working to make sure that the Iron Age, Roman, and Medieval items uncovered during the work are cataloged.
Nick Harris, CEO of National Highways says this is one of the most important improvement schemes.
He explained: "One of the benefits we're going to get is improvements in safety, there are going to be environmental improvements there will be an improvement in air quality because we're going to be addressing the queuing traffic.
"There will be benefits to the communities that are alongside the road here. They'll be able to move between the different communities far more easily. Not just by car but by horseriding, cycling and walking and it will be a huge support to the growth of the local economy."
New footpaths and bridlepaths are set to be created.
It is hoped the scheme will be net biodiversity positive.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown MP for The Cotswolds said: "I've been campaigning for this for 15 years and to see the progress that's been made in a matter of a month or two is really impressive. So when it's finished it means people will be able to travel on a congestion-free road which is a great advantage."
It is hoped the project will be net biodiversity positive.
Sir Geoffrey continued to say: "We've already made some interesting discoveries. We've got 2,000 adders on the site which are going to be relocated.
"We're going to have a lot of new Cotswold limestone grasses, which are quite rare, planted and we're going to have a huge number of trees, I think they were saying well over 150,000 trees planted here, so there will be a lot of ecological benefits from the scheme as far as any road can be."