White Hart slip road to be temporarily closed for next stage of £30m improvements
The next stage of improvement work at White Hart junction will see the A419 southbound exit slip road closed for seven weeks.
Published: Wednesday, 7th October 2020
From Monday 12 October, motorists travelling southbound on the A419 will need to continue to the Commonhead roundabout before returning to White Hart roundabout as part of the diversion route which will be in place. The roundabout itself will remain open during this time.
This piece of work will see a retaining wall constructed to enable the slip road widening to four lanes while new drainage, kerbs, signage and lighting will also be added.
White Hart roundabout is one of several key junctions being upgraded to help mitigate the impact of the New Eastern Villages (NEV) development being built to the east of the A419.
Once completed, improvements to the junction will include an increase in the number of lanes on the roundabout, the addition of traffic signals, widening of the A419 southbound slip road and construction of a new northbound slip road onto the A419.
External funding has been awarded from the Department of Transport and Local Growth Fund for this scheme, while £1m will be obtained from developers’ contributions.
Councillor Gary Sumner, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Infrastructure, Transport and Planning, said: “Improving the capacity of White Hart junction is a key element of the New Eastern Villages development as we want to make sure the nearby roads and junctions are ready to facilitate an increase in traffic.
“The temporary closure of the slip road will allow our contractor to get to work on widening and improving the off-slip, moving this improvement project one step closer to completion.”
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