Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

The Project

The A419/A417 Swindon to Gloucester Trunk Road provides an important link between the M4 and M5 Motorways. It forms a strategic corridor between the South of England and areas in the Midlands and the North.

Key Data

Length of Project Road	32.31 miles (52km)
Estimated Construction Cost	£110 million
Contract Award	8 February 1996
Commencement	1 April 1996
First Opened to Traffic	DBFO Co Improvements Cirencester Stratton bypass - 09 December 1997 Latton Bypass - 24 December 1997 North of Stratton to Nettleton Improvements - 16 January 1998 HA Major Projects Improvements Commonhead Flyover - 05 February 2007 Blunsdon Bypass - 15 November 2008
End of Contract Period	31 March 2026
DBFO Company	Road Management Services (Gloucester) Ltd
Type of Road	Single/Dual carriageway
Shareholders	KBR, Abertis Motorways Ltd, Barclays Infrastructure Investors Ltd
Contractors	AMEC, Dragados, Alfred McAlpine, Brown & Root

Discussion

The A419/A417 Swindon to Gloucester DBFO Project was one of the first tranche of DBFO contracts in the Government's £1 billion Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) programme. The contract was awarded to Road Management Services (Gloucester) Ltd (RMS) a consortium of four companies comprising AMEC, Alfred McAlpine, Brown and Route and Dragados.

The DBFO length of the A419/A417 between the M4 at Swindon and the M5 at Gloucester is approximately 32.31 miles (52 kilometres) long (29.2 miles (47km) dual and 3.12 (5km) single carriageway). The route includes approximately 60 structures.

RMS's concession lasts for a period of 30 years and included the construction of three new sections of road and the operation and ongoing maintenance of the existing road. The new sections comprised the Cirencester and Stratton Bypass, Latton Bypass, and the North of Stratton to Nettleton Improvement. The payments to RMS are based on the number of vehicles using the road and the distance they travel on it. There is no direct payment of tolls by road users.

RMS employed the A419/A417 RMG Construction Joint Venture (a consortium of AMEC, McAlpine, Brown and Root and Dragados) to construct the three new sections. The Joint Venture received design support from Parkman.

The new sections were built to relieve the communities of Cirencester, Stratton and Latton from the effects of heavy traffic, and to improve safety along the old Roman Road between Stratton and Nettleton. The new sections were constructed as dual carriageway, and included 8 new grade separated junctions and 28 new structures.

RMS are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the route and they employ Mouchel Parkman and Ringway to undertake the routine and winter maintenance work. The Secretary of State is the Highway Authority for the trunk road and remains responsible for network improvements (apart from major maintenance schemes) and various legal obligations.