ROAD TO RUIN
A NEW £50m motorway junction is yet to open because the developers haven't built a link road to it.
The new junction, dubbed 'the most expensive dead end', was due to launch in late 2019 - but eight months later and it is still fenced off.
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The M49 at Avonmouth, Bristol, was due to connect a distribution park - used by firms including Amazon, Tesco and DHL - with the motorway network.
Work began in December 2017 and was completed in late 2019, but traffic is yet to use it.
That is because when drivers reach the dead end they are met with a fenced-off area - from which they can see the Amazon warehouse, but they can't drive to it.
South Gloucestershire Council told the BBC it was "working to influence" the developers - Severnside Distribution Land and Delta Properties - to build the road linking the distribution park and the main motorway.
James Long, a former worker at the distribution park, said the situation was a "disgrace" and an "insult".
He claimed the business park owners were "holding the public to ransom" and accused the government of "messing up".
Mr Long, who lives in the nearby village of Pilning, said "thousands" of lorries are forced to use an A road to access the motorway network.
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The M49 is a five-mile motorway linking the M5 at Avonmouth and the Prince of Wales Bridge, which crosses the River Severn.
The new junction would be the only one on the short M49 route.
A spokesperson for Highways England, which funded and constructed the junction, told the Sun Online: "We have completed the main construction of the new junction on schedule, and this will allow local developers to connect into the junction.
"The new junction will be open to traffic once the link roads are completed and connected to the local road network, and South Gloucestershire Council is currently working towards this with developers.
"Once the next phase is completed, the junction will provide a much-needed connection into the Avonmouth and Severnside Enterprise Area from the motorway network, promoting economic growth and unlocking the potential of the enterprise area given its strategic importance as a key regional employment site."
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A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson said: "Now that Highways England has constructed the new junction, the responsibility for building the link road, which will provide access to the junction and the wider network lies solely with the landowner, Delta Properties.
"We have been working to influence and help facilitate construction of the link road and have been in contact with both the landowner and major employers in the area, seeking to ensure that the link is constructed in a timely manner."
The developers have been contacted for comment.