NEW signs have been installed next to a notoriously busy section of the A417 encouraging motorists to pledge their support to a £250million scheme to improve the road.

Gloucestershire County Council is hoping that the signs will remind motorists, who are constantly caught in miles of tailbacks, to join more than 3,000 other people who have already supported the A417 Loop.

The county-wide campaign is calling on commuters, residents and businesses to put pressure on the government to replace the five kilometre stretch of single carriageway linking Cowley and Brockworth with a new dual carriageway.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, GCC leader, stressed the importance of local people getting behind the scheme.

He said: “If the government is going to listen, we need as many people as possible to show their support. The road is not currently designed to carry the amount of traffic it does every day.

“This is not just a question of delays; it is a safety issue too.”

Used by more than 34,000 vehicles every single day, the A417 has been the location of more than 340 casualties in the last 15 years.

There have been 11 fatalities on the road since 1998, three of which occurred in the space of eight hours last November.

In order to reach as many frustrated drivers as possible, the new signs have been placed on land next to the road from Cirencester to Birdlip, at the point at which rush hour queues usually start.

It is hoped that with enough support the A417 Loop will be added to the Highways Agency’s list of future road scheme priorities at the end of the month, as part of its ongoing Route Based Strategy Work.

If the project is added to the list then there is a much higher chance of securing the vital funding when the government allocates cash in the spring of next year.

To support the campaign, visit www.a417missinglink.co.uk.