WORK to Melksham East’s ‘abandoned’ roundabout on Spa Road is still ongoing, with Wiltshire Council saying construction is expected to finish in July this year – two years after the project began.
Work started to construct the roundabout on Spa Road opposite Snowberry Lane on 25th July 2022 but it has remained fenced off, attracting complaints from residents over the lack of progress, ‘mess’ and size of the site.
In August last year, Wiltshire Council said there had been a delay to the works because an unknown Openreach fibre-optic cable apparatus was discovered. The authority also said it was in discussions with Outreach and the developer responsible for the works, over damage to the top of an existing brick arch culvert.
Openreach undertook the first phase of the work at the end of last year, but this led to further frustration and complaints among residents due to disruption to traffic flow.
Wiltshire Council say they are working with the company to find a ‘less disruptive way’ to complete the remaining works, with the roundabout anticipated to be finished by July.
Cllr Caroline Thomas, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for transport said, “Our understanding is that Openreach are currently procuring the necessary resources they need to undertake the remaining work. As a result of this, we have set out our expectations and the working conditions Openreach must follow to complete their works.
“When undertaking these remaining works, it will be at less impactful times of the day and in total should take around 12 days. Once the Openreach works are finished, we can start works to complete the roundabout, which should be complete early in July.”
An Openreach spokesperson said, “We’re working with Wiltshire Council on a project at the Spa Road roundabout at Melksham which involves moving our telecommunications network. The initial phase of this work was completed in November; we’re now looking at ways of completing the work which will minimise disruption to local road users.”
Openreach began work on the site on Monday 29th January to complete the final elements of the programme; the two-way traffic lights are expected to be onsite for a two-week period.
