Road to close for five months for cycleway works

Drivers are being warned about significant closures along a busy route over the next five months, so a cycleway can be improved.

The next phase of improvements for the A435 Cheltenham to Bishop's Cleeve Cycleway will begin in May and last until August.

The road will be closed in both directions between the Cheltenham Racecourse roundabout and the Hyde Lane/Southam Lane junction.

The scheme will provide full access to the 26-mile Gloucestershire Cycle Spine which will run between Bishop's Cleeve and Stroud.

Gloucestershire County Council said the road closures "are necessary for the successful and safe completion of the project", the first section of which was completed at the end of 2024 between the Honeybourne Line and Cheltenham Racecourse roundabout.

The first phase of section two, between the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam Railway Bridge and the GE roundabout in Bishop's Cleeve, began in early January and is expected to finish in autumn 2025.

When work begins on the second phase of section two, a full road closure will be in place from 19 May until 22 August.

The closure will allow the road over the bridge to be re-aligned to accommodate a two-way road and a new shared use cycleway and footway with protection buffer zone.

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