Cabinet are asked to support the Western option via Emersons Green as the preferred route for a new motorway junction on the M4. The item is due to be considered at the next Cabinet meeting on Monday 12 March.
Having received funding from the Department for Transport to carry out a feasibility study with Highways England, a public consultation ran between August and October last year which considered all available options for a new junction, 18a. This new junction would link the M4 with the A4174 ring road and help reduce congestion in and around the area and boost the economy with thousands of new jobs.
The 1261 questionnaire responses show that 74 per cent of people support a new junction on the M4. 51 per cent of the questionnaire responses show a preference for the Western option, 17 per cent support the Eastern option, with 26 per cent supporting neither option. Six per cent don’t have a preferred location.
If the Western option is approved at Cabinet, the next steps would be:
● The report will be provided to Highways England and following their review it will be provided to the Department for Transport
● If the scheme is taken forward, Highways England would then lead it, taking it through subsequent business case stages which involve further data collection, survey work and design
● Subject to funding and consent, the junction and link road could be built from 2025 onwards.
