‘Road rage’ on BBC Panorama: fuelling the fire or raising awareness? We interview the presenter on the road.cc Podcast

Shake wrote:

Do you know where that junction is that has cost more than the entire UK cycling infurstructure investment?

The audio isn't very clear but I think what he actually says is "there's one junction in the Southwest that cost more than the cycling budget for the entire region", in which case I assume he is referring to the M49 junction near Avonmouth which cost £50 million.  

Good news everyone! They'll be linking that junction up at some point so at least people will be able to drive on it

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/m49-ghost-junction-missing-link-7691583

Quote:

The M49 was built at the same time as the Second Severn Crossing back in 1996 and is just five miles long, from what is now the Prince of Wales Bridge to the M5 at Avonmouth. The Severn Beach junction was originally planned as part of the expansion of the industrial estates and distribution centres between Severn Beach and the motorway, and was the first junction on the motorway when it was built in 2019.

But there was a mistake in the planning for the junction and neither South Gloucestershire Council or Highways England - now called National Highways - secured the land between the roundabout exit and Goldcrest Way, and the network of roads and roundabouts that serve the vast distribution centres in the area.

That’s meant huge amounts of traffic, especially lorries, using Severn Road down through Avonmouth to get onto the motorway network - an issue that the new junction was supposed to have solved by now.

Back in May, Mr Norris said it was ‘impossible’ to find out just who was responsible for the gaffe which led to the junction being left unconnected for so long. “Isn’t it terrible for our region that we have all this infrastructure expenditure and for want of a decent bit of foresight and planning we don’t have a motorway junction that could work and alleviate those pressures on local communities around that area. Terrible," he said at the time.

“I am absolutely furious about it. I have made that very clear to the people I’ve spoken to, but pinning down who is actually responsible is impossible.” Asked when the junction was finally likely to open, he said: “There is a date, and I think it’s within the next couple of years.

Shame really because with a little imagination it could make a brilliant crit circuit!

You think? 

https://www.strava.com/segments/23451880

well they spent 1.5billion pounds on the Girton interchange upgrades on the A14, it included about 21miles of adding an extra lane, but thats 75% of the active travel budget for 5 years on one junction.