Highways Agency

The Project

The A34 Chieveley/M4 Junction 13 Improvement Scheme has come a long way from the first public enquiry in 1992. The £38.3m contract was awarded in March 2003 and the A34 underpass was opened to traffic 17 months later in August 2004. Undertaking the construction of a project of this complexity in such a short time scale is an achievement the whole site team is justifiably proud of.

The project team would like to extend their thanks to the local community for their co-operation and understanding throughout the works.

The aims of the scheme were to:

• Reduce delays - by removing half of the A34 through traffic, free capacity and leading to more reliable journeys.
• Reduce noise - by using noise reducing surfacing on all road surfaces and constructing noise barriers and landscape moulding around sensitive locations.
• Improve the local environment - by extensive ground modelling around the village of Chieveley, to shield the villagers from the noise and visual impact of the M4 and A34, much of which will be returned to agriculture. The landscape proposals will include extensive tree and shrub planting. Public rights of way will be improved by the construction of two new bridleway bridges to create the 'Chieveley Community Circuit' linking the villages of Curridge and Chieveley.
• Improve safety - accidents will be reduced by the removal of a significant portion of traffic from the Junction 13 roundabout.

The work has included construction of ten new bridges and 3 km of new dual carriageway. The safety of the final route was fundamental to the design process and the route underwent a thorough safety audit before opening, which ensured that the very best standards of safety are guaranteed for all road users.