A303 dualling enters new crossover phase

The A303 Sparkford to Ilchester dualling scheme enters its next phase this month, with drivers switching carriageways and using sections of the new road as works to tie in the new road are completed.

The first of six phased crossovers will happen in May, between Podimore roundabout and the junction from the A303 to Yeovilton (B3151). Traffic management will be put in from next Tuesday (9 May), with a new speed limit imposed from 30 May.

National Highways programme manager Hannah Sanderson said: ‘To complete this work safely, we need to introduce some traffic management onto the road and 30mph limits will be required in sections where traffic is crossing over from one side to the other.

‘This is being done for the safety of road users and for the safety of our construction team who'll be working closely to the road.

‘Our primary goal is to keep all traffic moving, while maintaining the safety of all those using or working alongside the road. We'd like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding.’

The scheme is dualling three miles of single carriageway and is expected to cost between £100m and £250m. National Highways is working with delivery partner Galliford Try to construct the scheme, which it said will promote economic growth locally and tackle a long-standing bottleneck.

It said it is aiming to:

• improve the capacity of the road to reduce delays during peak hours and at busy times of the year
• support economic growth
• make the road safer, ‘by providing additional capacity and reducing driver stress’
• make journey times more reliable and resilient by providing more capacity.

The scheme is scheduled to be open to traffic in spring 2024.