A SECTION of the A419 ring road around Cirencester will be closed today while crews work to make the road safer and more attractive.

During the three-day operation verges will be cut back and rubbish will be cleaned up.

Work will start today, Wednesday, September 19, and the teams' work is expected to be completed by the weekend.

In order to clean up the road between Kings Meadow roundabout to Preston Tollbar that section of the A419 will be closed from 7:30am to 5pm.

Signed diversion routes will be in place and the routes have developed to accommodate Heavy Goods Vehicles.

As part of the operation, crews from Cotswold District Council’s waste service provider Ubico Ltd are planning to clear litter from the ring road around Cirencester, immediately following the machines cutting the grass verges.

 

A map provided by the council shows the road closure and where the diversion routes will be

A further machine will then be used to empty roadside gullies.

Finally, the entire ring road will be swept by Ubico to remove other debris and the end result should be a much safer, and more attractive, stretch of highway for users.

Commenting on the forthcoming operation, Ubico senior operations manager Mike Penney said: “This will be very much a team effort which will include ourselves and Cotswold District Council.

"We can assure the public that the work will be well planned and supervised to reduce disruption to motorists and pedestrians.

"We carried out a similar joint exercise in June and many people have commented on the improvements at the time, especially the enhanced safety for users.”

His remarks were echoed by Cotswold District Council cabinet member for environment, Cllr Sue Coakley, who added: “Long grass on verges can pose great dangers for motorists, especially on very busy routes like the Cirencester ring road, and I am very pleased that work will soon begin to improve visibility.

"More generally, I am also very grateful to the Ubico crews for the litter picking that they undertake across the whole District.

"Their efforts – combined with those of the public – really do make a difference as we strive to keep the Cotswolds beautiful.”