THOUSANDS of trees are bringing a stretch of new road around Swindon to life.

Work on the £65.5m Blunsdon bypass has been progressing since 2006 and Highways Agency staff behind the scheme are predicting it will be ready by next winter.

But now for the first time drivers using roads around the new bypass are starting to see signs of life.

Until now those working on the bypass have been planting up parts of the site not visible to drivers.

But in the past few weeks trees and shrubs close to the site of the new road have started to become visible.

"We are now well into the second year of construction of the Blunsdon bypass," said a Highways Agency spokesman.

"And the first stage of the landscaping has been underway for several months.

"More planting will be carried out next winter.

"Planting trees, shrubs and hedgerows has become an important part of the process of building a new road.

"Such work helps a new road blend into its environment.

"It also creates valuable wildlife habitats which can make a real difference in work to improve bio-diversity - especially because embankments alongside roads are rarely disturbed by people.

"And such developments are often noted by drivers who notice developments of these kind of sites as they pass by during construction.

"Maybe by the summer time there will be something a little more interesting for people using the roads nearby to look at."

When the planting is complete the new road will have had 71,000 trees and shrubs planted alongside.

And there will also be 1.2kms of new hedgerows in place.

Earlier in the in the winter the first signs of life at the site started to become visible as grass planted on embankments began to peep through the mud.

The current round of planting, which has been going on over the winter, is almost complete.

Planting will then be postponed until the autumn.