Gridlock fear Spending deadline could mean roadworks 'everywhere at once'

TRAFFIC in Bristol could soon be seized up by roadworks on “everything, eve-rywhere, all at once” over the next two years.

- Alex SEABROOK Local democracy reporter

Time is quickly running out to spend hundreds of millions of pounds upgrading the city’s transport network with several huge projects happening simultaneously.

The West of England region was given over half a billion pounds by the Government to upgrade its transport infrastructure, but told all the cash must be spent in just five years. Bristol's share of this was around £200 million, which is funding a raft of ambitious projects due to be rolled out.

The City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement was awarded in April 2022, with a whopping £540 million for Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset. The deadline to spend this money is March 2027, when any unspent cash will be taken back by the Government.

Due to these tight timescales, and the length of time that planning major transport upgrades needs, several huge roadworks will take over major junctions in Bristol over the next couple of years.