£40m unused road may open - but not for everyone

An unused road that cost £40m to build may be opened to some traffic next year.

The Southern Connector Road was built to link 8,000 new homes near South Marston in Swindon with the M4, but defects were discovered and it was deemed unsafe.

Swindon Borough Council said it was now looking for a contractor to start work so the road could open to lorries and construction traffic.

Currently, trucks and lorries involved in the housing development are using local residential roads. Plumber Danny O'Reilly said: "There is loads more traffic in the area, loads of trucks and lorries, it's manic."

"It's just so irritating. It would be better if there was an alternative," he added.

Before the road was due to reopen, cracks started to appear in the road surface and nearby pathways. There was also movement detected in the bridge.

The company who built the road went into administration in 2023 before work was completed, leaving the council to fund the repairs.

Swindon Borough Councillor Nick Gardiner, cabinet member for highways and transport said the council's priority was to get "lorries onto the Southern Connector Road as soon as it is safe to do so".

"If everything goes to plan, construction traffic could be using the route from next spring," Gardiner added.

But it could be a lot longer before everyone else can use the road.

Gardiner said the council need to "explore longer-term solutions and funding options that could eventually allow the route to be opened more widely in the future".

If and when the road opens, the council said it would be monitored closely.

It had been suggested the bridge on the road would have to be torn down and rebuilt before it could open to all traffic.

Labour councillor Chris Watts said: "The financial burden for rectifying the road is immense, with the bridge at the centre of the defects requiring significant remedy."

He added: "The council will need to keep a sharp focus on this project of moving goalposts."

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