WORK to rid Swindon of a major bottleneck starts on Monday.

The £5.3m project at the Greenbridge Roundabout, which been funded by the Government and housing developers and will run until early next year.

More lanes, traffic signals and extra pedestrian crossings are being created at the junction as part of a programme to upgrade the busiest routes into the town and keep pace with future development of the eastern villages.

Coun Dale Heenan, Swindon Borough Council cabinet member for sustainability and transport, said: “We must learn the lessons of the last thirty years because for too long Swindon has grown without having a detailed programme of road improvements to enable our roads to cope with extra traffic.”

If the work was not done the existing roundabout would not be able to cope with the predicted rush hour traffic.

“The M4 junctions are due to be upgraded and in 2018/19 a brand new road from the A420 to Commonhead will go ahead.

“It is improvements like these that will be crucial in keeping Swindon moving and help our town avoid the rush hour gridlock that neighbouring cities like Bristol, Bath and Oxford experience every day,” he added.

Cabinet member for communities and strategic planning, Coun Toby Elliott said: “This project is necessary to tackle a peak time bottleneck and improve road links towards the east of Swindon.

“Over the next 15 years there will be 8,000 new homes, a district centre, new schools and employment for up to 4,000 people in the new eastern villages development and we must ensure Swindon has the right infrastructure at the right time.”

The layout will include a new exit from the Greenbridge retail park, cycle crossings and widened junctions.

In a bid to minimise disruption to road users, residents and nearby businesses during peak times, lane restrictions will be in place between 9.30am and 3.30pm.

Contractors Wills Brothers Civil Engineering are carrying out the work. Residents with queries can email greenbridge@swindon.gov.uk or call 01793 445500.

The eastern villages development will create a new district centre with shops and leisure facilities. New schools, including a secondary school are included in the plan and outline planning permission has already been given for 30 hectares of employment sites.

Visit www.swindon.gov.uk/nev for more information about the development.