Almost £23 M approved for Wichelstowe M4-link tunnel

The government has announced that funding for the link road between Wichelstowe and Junction 16 of the M4 motorway has now been given final approval. Provisional approval had been given in May 2018, with the funding originally announced in July 2014. The link includes a short tunnel under the M4, with the road joining Hay Lane at a new roundabout. The project will cost £28.2 million in total, with £22.9 million coming from central government and the remaining £5.3 million coming from Swindon Borough Council.

Completing this link is a requirement in the planning consent for the last 2,500 houses in Wichelstowe to be built, though that’s a long way off as there’s almost 1,500 homes to be built before that point is reached.

Construction work on the link is due to start in December this year and be completed in March 2021.