What nine months of 'complex' roadworks will mean for commuters

Commuters travelling on one of a city's main routes face nine months of disruption as "complex" roadworks take place.

Gloucester's A40 Over Bridge, used by up to 5,000 vehicles an hour at peak times, will undergo maintenance and repairs due to visible wear and tear both beneath and on top of the structure.

The £7m project will begin in just under a month and is expected to wrap up in March 2027, with a mixture of full and partial closures planned over the course of the nine months.

But what does it mean for those travelling in and around the city?

Over Bridge carries the A40 over the River Severn between Over Roundabout and Over Farm, to the north-west of Gloucester.

The roundabout is a key intersection serving Gloucester, Cheltenham, and the north of Gloucestershire.

It is often considered the only route between the Forest of Dean and Gloucester, with the exception of travelling over the Welsh border, along the M48 Severn Bridge and up the M5.

The latter would take considerably longer, but the usual route is often blighted by traffic, with commuters often getting stuck at a bottleneck at Highnam Roundabout and crawling from there to Over Roundabout.

The works will last for nine months and will be carried out six days a week.

National Highways said it considered a seven-day schedule but, because of staff working patterns, it would not necessarily speed things up.

It said the work is complex because the road must stay open to some extent during construction, although seven full closures are expected, with dates to be given nearer the time.

The biggest change, arguably, will be the full closure of the A417 Over Causeway to A40 Westbound slip road - used by drivers heading to the Forest from Gloucester - for nine months.

Instead, these drivers will have to drive slightly further to Over Roundabout and take the first exit.

Between June and July 2026, lane two will be shut in both directions over the bridge, and again from October to January.

In between these lane two closures, the eastbound carriageway will shut - heading towards Gloucester - with a single lane contraflow on the westbound carriageway to be put in place.

According to National Highways, the following work will be completed:

• Repairs to concrete
• Renewing the waterproofing on the bridge
• Improving drainage
• Resurfacing
• New bridge joints
• Upgraded street lighting
• New barriers
• New signage

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