Motorists heading between the Midlands, Bristol and the south coast are set to see major improvements to the A350 with more than £32.3 million ploughed into improving the route. Work began on the dual carriageway of the picturesque A road near Chippenham, Wiltshire, in 2025 and is due to be completed later this year.
According to Wiltshire Council, local residents and passing-through traffic will benefit from reduced traffic on more local routes as well as “better road safety and better access to jobs in the area”. It added that “businesses are expected to save time and money, as goods can travel more freely with improved access to a key part of the UK’s road freight network”. The Department for Transport said the changes will shave up to 25% off journey times, reduce air pollution and improve road safety.
It’s estimated the scheme will benefit around 24,000 vehicles a day by helping to relieve congestion on the A350 Chippenham Bypass which the local authority said will help stop the causes of “blockages during peak travel times”.
A Wiltshire Council statement about the project said: “Currently, during afternoon peak periods, significant traffic queuing occurs along Bumpers Way as traffic seeks to leave the industrial/business area. This is due to the dominant A350 southbound traffic flow restricting access onto the junction from both the A420 and Bumpers Way.
“To improve this situation, the scheme will include traffic sensors on the Bumpers Way approach. The sensors will detect stationary traffic, and when a large queue is identified, the timings of the traffic signals system at the roundabout will be adjusted to help generate gaps in the traffic flow and ease the traffic movement out of Bumpers Way.
“The sensors will be calibrated on-site to ease the Bumpers Way queuing issue, whilst maximising traffic flows through and around the junction.”
The Department of Transport said the A350 Chippenham Bypass was “one of the most important routes connecting the South West with the Midlands and South East”, adding that once work is complete it “is expected to see journey times reduced by up to a quarter, with 2 sections of the road to be dualled and improvements made to the roundabout”.
The Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, said: “The UK’s roads are the backbone of a growing economy, which is why we’re giving these vital schemes the go ahead, helping deliver our Plan for Change.
“Economic growth has been stunted for too long, so we’re giving the green light and investing in vital schemes to help people get from A to B more easily however they choose to travel.”
