What's in this issue

Welcome to the August edition of our A417 Missing Link newsletter. In here you’ll find out more about what’s happening on the project including:   

• Project update
• Upcoming roadworks
• Other work happening in the area
• Out and about in the community
  • Summer site visits
  • School engagement
  • Shurdington Village fete
• Have a safe TRIP this summer
• How to contact us

Project update

Our work on the project is progressing well. The civils work being carried out within the closures at Leckhampton Hill is on track to finish on time, with the road planned to reopen on Monday 23 September. Keep an eye on our webpage for more information.

In other areas, we’re continuing our piling work at Stockwell to prepare for the Stockwell Farm bridge, dry-stone walling continues at Stockwell and Cowley, and work is also progressing at the Gloucestershire Way Crossing location, following recent concrete pours for the central piers.

What’s happening at Crickley Hill and Shab Valley?

If you’ve travelled through Crickley Hill or Shab Valley recently, you may have spotted our teams progressing earthworks in the area. That's because they’re using a rather impressive piece of machinery; a 90-tonne excavator with a 40-metre-high stitcher attachment which has been specially modified to carry out the task at hand. 

Working with our supply chain partners Cofra, we’re installing over 40,000 vertical drains, some up to 20 metres into the ground. The drains will give residual water that’s beneath the surface a way out. By allowing it to escape, the drains will reduce the settlement period for earthworks from around 2-3 years to only 3-4 months, which significantly shortens the programme of construction for our project. 

Vertical drains are traditionally used in flat areas of already free draining material such as sand or gravel. On this scheme, however, the drains are being installed on the hillside, so we’ve needed to create a series of small platforms which step up the 10% incline at Crickley Hill. This has been developed specifically for this project due to its unique topography. 

Since we began these works in June this year, the team has installed over 8,000 drains, which is around 550 a day. If we continue at this rate, we expect it to be finished in December.  

Environmental update

We’re continuing to monitor the species in the area, ensuring they’ve adapted well to their new environments and are looking ahead at early planting establishment areas.

Upcoming roadworks

Overnight closures on the A436 eastbound

From Monday 2 September, we'll be closing the A436 eastbound from the Air Balloon Roundabout to Crickley Hill between 9pm and 6am over 14 nights - this includes weekends. This will allow us to undertake drainage work for the changes at Leckhampton Hill.

Work continues at Leckhampton Hill

Our civils work at Leckhampton Hill is progressing well with phases one and two now complete.

The final phase of work is taking place between Tuesday 27 August and Sunday 22 September when you will access Crickley Hill via Leckhampton Road leading into Leckhampton Hill. The Crickley Hill entrance will be on the right-hand side, at the top of Leckhampton Hill.

National Star College and Cotswold Hills Golf Club remain open as usual – please follow signs for access.

Please plan ahead and follow signed diversion routes during the closures.

Other work happening in the area

A417/A419 essential maintenance

We’re carrying out maintenance on the A417 and A419 separate from the A417 Missing Link scheme. This work is essential to keep the concrete carriageway safe and reliable for drivers. This work will be carried out in phases during weekends to minimise disruption.

Closure information

There will be full weekend closures, from 8pm on Friday until 6am on Monday, on the following:

• Friday 30 August to Monday 2 September: A417 northbound closed between Burford Road Interchange and Quarry Interchange
• Friday 6 September to Monday 9 September: A419 northbound closured between Spine Road junction and Burford Road Interchange
• Friday 13 September to Monday 16 September: A419 southbound closed between Burford Road Interchange and Spine Road junction
• Friday 20 September to Monday 23 September: A419 southbound closed between Spine Road junction and Lady Lane junction.
• Friday 27 September to Monday 30 September: A419 closed between Turnpike junction and Spine Road junction

Where to find more information

All roadworks and planned road closures on motorways and major A roads, including the A417, are published on the Traffic England website.

We also publish a Road Closure Report that includes a seven day look ahead of planned road closures. This is updated twice a day, Monday to Friday except for bank holidays.

You can also find the latest information about local road closures managed by Gloucestershire County Council, on its webpage. 

Out and about in the community

Summer site visits

This summer we’ve held five open days, giving members of the public the opportunity to tour our site and see how work is progressing across the scheme. Since the end of June, we’ve welcomed 324 people to site including local residents, businesses, community groups, councillors and MPs.

School engagement

We recently supported the Children’s Cake Bake in Bentham, raising money for local children in the area to subsidise summer holiday funds for days out.

Members of our team also volunteered at Coberley School, where we painted inside and out, renovated a vegetable garden, re-built a nature garden, and removed old unused equipment.

Shurdington Village fete

This month we got involved in the Shurdington Village fete donating vouchers for a prize in the tombola. We hope everyone had a great time at the event.

Have a safe TRIP this summer

Planning a late summer holiday? Help to have a safe T.R.I.P. by following these steps before you set off on any long journey:

• Top-up – fuel/battery, oil and screen-wash
• Rest – plan your rest stops every two hours
• Inspect – tyre pressure and tread
• Prepare – for all weather conditions

How to contact us

You can keep up to date with the latest scheme news by visiting our website, emailing or phoning us, or following us on X (formerly Twitter) or Facebook -

Webpage: nationalhighways.co.uk/a417-missing-link/

Email: A417MissingLink@nationalhighways.co.uk

Phone: 0300 123 5000

X: @HighwaysSWEST 

Facebook: @HighwaysSWEST