Drivers face 'endless gridlock and a traffic nightmare' during a two-year closure of an M5 junction, a councillor has warned. Gloucestershire County Council has announced £372 million improvement works to Junction 10 near Cheltenham, expected to begin early next year and be completed by 2029.
During the works, the junction's slip roads will remain closed along with Withybridge Lane, which connects Tewkesbury Road to the Old Gloucester Road. The M5 will remain open throughout, and 'signed diversion routes will be put in place,' the council said.
Councillor's warning over 'disaster waiting to happen'
The announcement came a week after the government said it would not fund improvements to Junction 9, which would have included building Junction 9a. Councillor Vernon Smith, who leads the Reform UK opposition group at the council, told Gloucestershire Live: 'Scrapping the vital M5 Junction 9a scheme while expecting our local roads to absorb the fallout of a two-year closure at Junction 10 is an absolute disaster waiting to happen.'
'Local families and motorists are being treated as collateral damage — forced to live through endless gridlock and a traffic nightmare.' Washington Carrato, whose removal firm TheManVan regularly serves customers from Cheltenham, said traffic around Junction 10 was already 'very heavy' and could make it worse. 'In the longer term, it seems like a good idea but the closures will cause motorists a lot of problems until they're finished,' he added.
Benefits of the scheme
Currently, the junction only allows drivers heading south to exit and those heading north to join. Once complete, the works will allow drivers to join the motorway from any direction and enable the creation of over 20,000 new homes in the area, the council said.
Cllr Julian Tooke, Gloucestershire County Council cabinet member for business, economic development, planning and infrastructure, said the works will 'improve connectivity locally and regionally, support economic growth and help unlock future development across the county'. Slip road closures will be needed so the 'most complex parts of the work can be carried out safely and as quickly as reasonably possible', he added.
Public information events
'We know this will be difficult for people who use Junction 10 and nearby roads, including Withybridge Lane, which will also be closed. Different construction and traffic management approaches have been considered, but some options do increase safety risks, cost more, create more changes for drivers or extend motorway traffic management.' The council is running public information events in November to help locals understand what is planned and how it may impact them.
