JUMP TO CONTENT

Open and close mobile menu

back
EN

Insights Wiltshire Major Road Network

Following public consultation in 2017, the Government announced the first wave of funding from the ‘National Roads Fund’ to be spent on the Major Road Network (MRN) and/or Large Local Major (LLM) schemes which align with the MRN objectives of:

•           Reducing congestion;
•           Supporting economic growth and rebalancing;
•           Supporting housing delivery;
•           Supporting all road users; and,
•           Supporting the Strategic Road Network (SRN).

The Western Gateway Subnational Transport Body had identified several priority schemes in their Regional Evidence Base which aimed to improve the function of the MRN.
Atkins was appointed by Wiltshire Council to deliver business cases for four MRN schemes, including: one Outline Business Case for the A350 Chippenham Bypass, and three Strategic Outline Business Cases for M4 Junction 17, A338 Southern Salisbury, and the A350 Melksham Bypass.

Improvements along these routes would meliorate the function of key strategic corridors, support the realisation of ambitious growth targets for areas including Chippenham, Salisbury and Trowbridge (as set out in the Wiltshire Core Strategy), and support long-term future growth. Considering Wiltshire Council’s strategic priorities, Atkins established the following objectives for each of the schemes:

•           Improve north-south connectivity in the Wiltshire area (including             through Salisbury and the A350 growth zone);
•           Reduce journey times and delay;
•           Reduce incidences of personal injury accidents;
•           Maintain the strategic function of key routes;
•           Ensure the road network has the capacity to support planned future growth.

Atkins provided all business case inputs including scheme designs, costs and transport modelling, which fed into a full economic appraisal and reliability assessments, as well as social and environmental impact appraisals.

this is an image of a road

Developing strong relationships as a trusted advisor

Building on a well-established relationship with Wiltshire Council, Atkins were able to provide a high-quality service with an excellent understanding of the client’s needs and priorities.

Bringing the benefit of our in-depth knowledge of previous schemes in the area, Atkins employed the Wiltshire Transport Model and made use of previous work on transport strategies in the area alongside work conducted for the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) application.

Interested in how our teams at Atkins are contributing to the future of transportation? Browse our vacancies.