Highways Agency

Background

Environmental Study Findings

BACKGROUND

Known locally as the 'missing link', the 3 mile stretch of the A417 from the Cowley roundabout near Nettleton Bottom to the eastern end of Brockworth Bypass has a poor safety record and queues occur regularly at peak periods. It is the only remaining single carriageway section on the A417/A419 route between the M4 (Jnc.15) and M5 (Jnc.11a) and carries over 30,000 vehicles per day, of which 14% are heavy goods vehicles.

This section of the trunk road lies in an area of particularly high environmental sensitivity and importance, being within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Scheduled Monuments close by. In August 2001, Ministers asked the Highways Agency to carry out an environmental study and examine the environmental effects of possible plans to improve the A417 between Cowley and Brockworth Bypass.

PUBLIC OPEN DAY

200 people attended the public open days held in Birdlip Village Hall in February last year, to view a display of the study findings and discuss them with the Highways Agency and WSP, the consultants appointed to carry out the study.

The open days indicated strong support for a major road improvement, and many local people expressed a preference for a tunnel.

PURPOSE OF THE BROCHURE

This brochure explains why Ministers have chosen to take forward an on-line improvement scheme (Option 2), and why it has been decided not to do any further work on Option 1 (on-line) or on a tunnel.

Illustrative Tunnel Cross Section

ILLUSTRATIVE TUNNEL CROSS SECTION

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Comparison of options

COMPARISON OF OPTIONS

Option 1

Between Cowley roundabout and the Air Balloon roundabout, the road would be widened to dual carriageway with a new section of road bypassing Nettleton Bottom. A modified junction at Birdlip would also be included.

Option 1 would modify the Air Balloon roundabout with traffic signals and provide an additional lane down Crickley Hill. This option has been discarded because:there are serious concerns about the safety of the proposed traffic signals on the Air Balloon roundabout.

it would only provide short term congestion relief (5 - 7 years)

Tunnel Option

A 2.8km tunnel from Nettleton Bottom to the bottom of Crickley Hill.

A tunnel would remove between 70% and 80% of vehicles from the existing trunk road, and overall the noise and air quality effects on adjacent properties would be improved. However, the existing road would have to be retained to maintain access to County roads and to provide an alternative route should the tunnel be closed in an emergency.

A tunnel would have a number of major drawbacks; it would:

significantly change the flow of groundwater which could severely restrict and / or contaminate the limestone aquifer (see illustration), which is a major source of water for the area.
have an adverse impact on many local water abstractions in the area which could severely lessen the amount of water available.
have, potentially, a very serious effect on Bushley Muzzard Site of Special Scientific Interest at Brimpsfield, a marsh notable for its species richness, including orchids and yellow sedge. A tunnel could reduce the supply of water to this wetland site or dry it out completely.
require the transport of more than 1.0 million tons of excavated soil to licensed disposal sites.
have serious operational concerns from the emergency services regarding dedicated services.
cost an estimated £200M, which represents poor value for money compared with the return for transport and economic benefits.
have a very high annual operating and maintenance cost of about £6M, compared with about £60,000 for a surface solution (Option 2).

There are so many disadvantages that it has been decided not to pursue a tunnel option further at this stage.

Option 2

Between Cowley roundabout and Air Balloon, the proposed improvements to the A417 are the same as Option 1. In Option 2, the A417 west of Air Balloon would be widened to provide three lanes up Crickley Hill and two lanes down it. The Air Balloon roundabout would be replaced with a two-level free-flow junction. The scheme cost is estimated at £60M.

Option 2 would provide a dual carriageway solution that would overcome the congestion and safety problems on this section of the A417. No unacceptable environmental effects have been identified, it provides good value for money and is deliverable. For these reasons, this option is to be developed further.

Detailed information about the Environmental Study is available in the Study Report.

What happens next

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Following this announcement, work will begin to develop the design of Option 2 and undertake a more detailed assessment of the likely impact. The next key stage will be a public consultation later in the year to provide residents, other interested parties and organisations and members of the public with the opportunity to comment on more detailed proposals. Results of the public consultation will be detailed in a report which will be made available for the public. In deciding on the preferred route, the Minister will take into account all the views from the consultation. The announcement of the preferred route would be followed by the appointment of a contractor who will be responsible for the design process leading to the publication of detailed proposals in the form of draft statutory Orders and an environmental statement.

Further information

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further copies of this brochure are available from:

Sarah Watkin, HighwaysAgency Temple Quay House Temple Quay Bristol, BS1 6HA Telephone (0117) 3728048