The government has announced its support to fund plans for a A350 Melksham bypass.
Wiltshire Council reports, “The Melksham scheme, which is estimated to cost around £135m, will bypass the town centre and in turn resolve a critical pinch-point on the A350, improving north to south connectivity throughout the Western Gateway in the south west. It is a part of a package of road improvement measures that will improve the northern section of this north-south route.
“As well as reducing journey times and delays, the scheme will provide significantly enhanced walking and cycling between Melksham town centre and the railway station and other parts of the town.
“Wiltshire Council will now develop an outline business case for the scheme to enable it to progress to the next stage of development under the government’s Major Road Network (MRN) programme.”
The government has also announced its support for improvements to the A338 in Salisbury. Cllr Bridget Wayman, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for highways, said, “This is fantastic news for Wiltshire, and we’re delighted that these two schemes have been given the green light to go ahead.
“This funding prioritises the busiest and most economically important roads in the Western Gateway, and will improve connections in the south west, reducing journey times and improving the roads for the people of Wiltshire and visitors to our county.
“We also have £40m worth of other bids in the pipeline that we hope will be included in the next phase of funding announcements, including dualling the A350 at Chippenham to Lackham, and major improvements at Junction 17 of the M4.
“In Westbury, we’re intending to bid for funds to improve the A350, but this scheme will fall into a further round of government funding, which won’t begin until 2025.”
Wiltshire Council says that both the Melksham and Salisbury schemes are important to support planned and future growth. Outline business cases for these schemes will now be developed to move the projects forward.
