'Britain's most expensive dead end' off the M49 that's cost £50m is step closer to being finished

The £50million 'ghost junction' off the M49 has become known as the country's "most expensive dead end" and was intended as a distribution centre when it was built

A road dubbed Britain’s “most expensive dead end ' is a step closer to completion, to the relief of local neighbours.

The £50million “ghost junction” off the M49 in Avonmouth, Bristol, was intended to connect a distribution centre for the likes of Amazon, Tesco, Lidl, Next, DHL and The Range with the motorway and was completed in late 2019. However five years on and no traffic is using it.

Motorists who drive down the motorway junction come to a dead-end and lorries accessing the industrial park have to drive through local villages. However, nine separate conditions - which prevented the commencement of construction of a link road - have been discharged by South Gloucestershire Council.

The decision made on November 1, said it has found acceptable to discharge the conditions - meaning now only two conditions remain. The discharged conditions include submitting a work schedule and a construction environmental management plan being approved.

Processes for soft and hard landscaping when creating the link road have been agreed and approved by the council. Health and safety risk assessments have also been reviewed and found acceptable by the council - and this will include the construction of a traffic management plan.

The remaining conditions preventing the construction of the link road now relate to the current cycle path - which was deemed 'redundant' in earlier plans submitted to the council. The other conditions relate to either after the completion of the link road or during the development itself - but it would not affect the starting date.

The M49 ‘ghost junction’ has had an unstable time since it was built. However in November last year it was reported that it could be built within the next 12 months. In December, a cabinet report said it could still take up to three years to complete.

The road has long caused problems for nearby residents. In 2021, parish councillor Peter Tyzack said: "All the traffic that would be going on the motorway is coming through the villages, which is a nightmare for us. From the day they dig the first turf, it'll be 12 months before the road can be opened.”