A435 Charlton Hill safety improvements completed ahead of schedule

Essential repairs were needed as the road had suffered from cracking and movement for many years, with landslips identified between Charlton Kings and the Seven Springs roundabout.

The most severely affected section had to be stabilised to make it safe for use and it was closed from March 2023. The work has now been completed three weeks ahead of schedule and it reopened on Friday 8 September.

The project involved installing sheet piles to stabilise the embankment and carriageway, reaching a depth of 12m and placed along a 441m length. The road has been fully resurfaced and tree maintenance works have also been carried out, along with improvements to the drainage system.

The crawler lane on the road, previously used for slow moving traffic until it was closed for safety reasons, has now been turned into an uphill ‘safe vehicle-free zone’.

The work cost £3.5 million and was funded by the county council’s Highways Capital programme and the Department for Transport.

More information on the scheme is available at https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/highways/a435ch  

Cllr Dom Morris, cabinet member for highways and flood, said: “I’m delighted this road has been reopened to the public three weeks ahead of schedule and I would like to thank our teams for their hard work on it.

“The project was a long time in the making so it’s great news it has now been carried out and road users can benefit from safer, smoother journeys on it. I would like to thank everyone for their patience during the closure.”