New £28m M4 underpass to 4,500 homes almost complete

Swindon Borough Council’s contractor Alun Griffiths Ltd has been hard at work for months building the Wichelstowe Southern Access Road to meet a planning condition for the 4,500-home development which will support a new district centre and 2,000 new jobs by freeing up 12.5 hectares of employment land.

The motorway above the new route has been kept open throughout construction by creating specially-built embankments on either side of the M4 which redirected lanes of traffic while the underpass was being excavated and built.

It will eventually allow traffic to enter and leave Wichelstowe as well as join up with a new junction at Hay Lane and Wharf Road close to Junction 16 of the M4.

Nearby, the new road of Wichel Way will be closed to traffic until it can be finished and connected to Wichelstowe. Once that’s done, it will connect to Wharf Road via a new roundabout which is already in use south of the M4.

The Department for Transport allocated £22.9m in funding towards the connector road scheme via the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership while Swindon Borough Council contributed an extra £5.8m.

Councillor Gary Sumner is Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for strategic infrastructure, transport and planning. He said: “The WSA scheme has allowed us to plan ahead and help ensure the right infrastructure is in place as new houses and businesses are built in the years to come.

“It’s likely that some residents will know little about this scheme due to the fact it caused little disruption to road users and residents. This is thanks, in part, to the clever engineering methods used and efficient management of the highway network, which has meant an entire underpass has been excavated and built below the motorway, without the need for any significant closures.

“While Wichel Way is yet to be opened, this scheme has been about planning ahead to introduce the infrastructure needed for our ever expanding town and support key developments like the Wichelstowe site. Once developers of the Wichelstowe site complete the new road, it should be a useful new route across the M4 for local residents of Wichelstowe and Wroughton.”

Roads Minister Baroness Vere, said: “It’s fantastic to see this vital scheme near completion. Our multi-million-pound investment will significantly boost the local economy in Swindon and the surrounding areas, with the road scheme supporting the creation of thousands of homes and jobs at the Wichelstowe development, as we build back better and level up transport across the country.”

For more information, visit www.swindon.gov.uk/wsa