View source for A417 road

{{Short description|Major road in England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox road
| country = GBR
| type = A
| route = 417
| image = A417 east of Gloucester - geograph.org.uk - 586975.jpg
| image_notes = The A417 Brockworth bypass with Gloucester in the distance
| length_mi = 96.9
| length_ref = <ref>{{cite web|title=Driving directions to A417|url=https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=51.52531,-1.149263+(51.525310,+-1.149263)&daddr=51.5981293,-1.4257402+to:51.5889748,-1.449632+to:51.6719464,-1.6429033+to:51.8666183,-2.2204907+to:51.8698327,-2.2487352+to:51.9327233,-2.2939933+to:52.173849,-2.715345&hl=en&ll=51.910391,-2.125854&spn=1.023395,2.471924&sll=51.925955,-2.31142&sspn=0.063939,0.154495&geocode=Fb42EgMdsXbu_w%3BFTFTEwMdtD7q_ylD6urmrrZ2SDHPTbImAMcFwA%3BFW4vEwMdYOHp_yljtp079rN2SDG4U-vYmzRgJw%3BFYpzFAMdae7m_yn3qQ6C_UlxSDGdnKOx_2CShg%3BFfprFwMdNh7e_ylpFEhYzgVxSDF2j0HORcsSBQ%3BFYh4FwMd4a_d_ylpUjMuYwZxSDF6Oph7oVqzVQ%3BFTNuGAMdF__c_yklLYT23gBxSDFcDkvpnHHv3A%3BFRkcHAMdL5HW_w&t=h&mra=dpe&mrsp=6&sz=13&via=1,2,3,4,5,6&z=9|publisher=Google Maps|access-date=6 December 2014}}</ref>
| direction_a = Southeast
| terminus_a = [[Streatley, Berkshire]]<br>{{coord|51.5253|-1.1493}}
| direction_b = Northwest
| terminus_b = [[Hope under Dinmore]]<br>{{coord|52.1738|-2.7153}}
| junction = [[Image:Junction 11a.svg|1000x20px]] {{jct|country=GBR|M|5|dab1=Great Britain}} <br> [[Image:Junction 2.svg|1000x20px]] {{jct|country=GBR|M|50|dab1=Great Britain}} <br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|329|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|338|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|419|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|420|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|361|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|429|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|435|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|436|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|46|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|38|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|40|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|449|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|438|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|4103|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|465|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|49|name1= }}
| destinations = [[Cirencester]]<br>[[Gloucester]]<br>[[Wantage]]
| previous_type = A
| next_type = A
| previous_route = 416
| next_route = 418
}}

The '''A417''' is a main road in England, running from [[Streatley, Berkshire]] to [[Hope under Dinmore]], Herefordshire. It is best known for its section between [[Cirencester]] and [[Gloucester]] where it has primary status and forms part of the link between the major settlements of [[Swindon]] and Gloucester.

== History ==
When the A417 was first designated in 1922, it ran only from Streatley to Cirencester.<ref>[http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/roadlists/1922.shtml#4 1922 road list]</ref> In 1935 it was extended to Gloucester, on the former route of the [[A419 road|A419]], and on to [[Ledbury]] and Hope under Dinmore.

There have been numerous upgrades and bypasses, particularly on the primary section. At [[Faringdon]], its traditional route over [[Folly Hill]] and down through the market place has been blocked by the more recent development of the [[A420 road|A420]] and the road has been diverted to the south. The [[Birdlip]] bypass, opened in 1988, avoided a steep (16%) gradient as the road descended the [[Cotswolds#Geography|Cotswold Edge]] escarpment to [[Brockworth]].

On 31 December 2022, the 200-year old [[The Air Balloon, Birdlip|Air Balloon pub]] at the roadside near Birdlip closed for the final time, before demolition to allow the road to be upgraded.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-29 |title=Landmark pub will be demolished to make way for new road |url=https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-12-29/landmark-pub-will-be-demolished-to-make-way-for-new-road |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=ITV News }}</ref>

===Brockworth bypass===
Southeast of Gloucester, the A417 originally followed a stretch of [[Roman roads in Britannia|Roman road]] through the rural parish of [[Brockworth]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1955 |title=Ordnance Survey sheet SO81NE |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/189234348 |access-date=15 May 2025 |website=National Library of Scotland}}</ref> A factory was built here by the [[Gloster Aircraft Company]], followed by other industries and housing. A draft route was published at the end of January 1991 to bypass Brockworth to the north, with work costing £35m to start in 1993.<ref>''Gloucester Citizen'' Thursday 31 January 1991, page 1</ref> A three-week public inquiry took place in early November 1991. There were protestors, who offered three alternative routes.<ref>''Gloucester Citizen'' Monday 28 October 1991, page 9</ref><ref>''Gloucester Citizen'' Wednesday 6 November 1991 page 3</ref>

Esso and Granada wanted to build a service area on the new bypass, at the bottom of [[Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake|Crickley Hill]]. In December 1991 [[Borough of Tewkesbury|Tewkesbury Borough Council]] rejected the proposal as it would interfere with the Cotswolds [[AONB]].<ref>''Gloucester Citizen'' Thursday 19 December 1991, page 11</ref> The {{Convert|3|mi|4=0|adj=on}} bypass was given the go-ahead in December 1992, with a new free-flow junction 11A on the [[M5 motorway]].<ref>''Gloucestershire Echo'' Thursday 3 December 1992, page 3</ref><ref>''Gloucester Citizen'' Friday 4 December 1992, page 7</ref>

The £34m contract was given to [[George Wimpey]] in December 1993, with the bypass to be completed by the end of 1995. Frank Graham were the consulting engineers.<ref>''Gloucestershire Echo'' Wednesday 8 December 1993, page 5</ref> The bypass was opened by [[John Watts (British politician)|John Watts]] on 18 December 1995.<ref>''Gloucester Citizen'' Monday 18 December 1995, page 3</ref><ref>''Western Daily Press'' Monday 18 December 1995, page 12</ref><ref>''Gloucester News'' Thursday 21 December 1995, page 1</ref> The new M5 junction was partly opened at the same time, being fully opened on 4 March 1996.<ref>''Gloucester Citizen'' Saturday 9 March 1996, page 5</ref>

===Birdlip bypass===
In October 1986, the government decided to build a £1.5m bypass to avoid [[Birdlip]] village, a few miles east of Brockworth. The bypass would be {{Convert|1.7|mi}} long;<ref>''Gloucester Citizen'' Tuesday 7 October 1986, page 1</ref><ref>''Western Daily Press'' Wednesday 8 October 1986, page 19</ref> work was to start in early 1988 and be completed by 1990.<ref>''Gloucestershire Echo'' Thursday 9 October 1986, page 16</ref> [[Biwater]] Construction were given the £1.9m contract in January 1988, to take 18 months.<ref>''Cheltenham News'' Thursday 21 January 1988, page 7</ref> Work started in late February 1988,<ref>''Gloucestershire Echo'' Friday 4 March 1988</ref> to be finished by January 1989.<ref>''Gloucestershire Echo'' Thursday 23 June 1988, page 17</ref>

The bypass opened on 12 December 1988, eight months early.<ref>''Gloucestershire Echo'' Saturday 10 December 1988, page 5</ref> The official opening was on 12 April 1989.<ref>''Gloucestershire Echo'' Thursday 6 April 1989, page 17</ref><ref>''Gloucestershire Echo'' Friday 14 April 1989, page 10</ref>

==Route==

===Streatley to Gloucester (M5)===
The road runs north-west from [[Streatley, Berkshire|Streatley]] at its junction with the [[A329 road|A329]] (between [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] and [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]]) then turns west to [[Wantage]], over the picturesque<ref>{{cite book
 |editor1-last=Ditchfield
 |editor1-first=P. H.
 |editor1-link=Peter Ditchfield
 |editor2-first=William
 |editor2-last=Page
 |editor2-link=William Page (historian)
 |title=A History of Berkshire, vol. 1
 |series=(2 vols.) The Victoria History of the Counties of England
 |place=London
 |publisher=Archibald Constable and Co.
 |year=1906
 |page=27
 |url=https://archive.org/details/victoriahistoryo01ditcuoft/page/n71/mode/2up}}&nbsp;[see also [https://archive.org/details/victoriahistoryo02pageuoft/page/n9/mode/2up vol. 2] ]</ref> [[Berkshire Downs]]. In Wantage, it negotiates the market place (around [[King Alfred]]'s statue). Soon after leaving Wantage it passes through [[East Challow]] village and runs north-west to [[Faringdon]], via [[Stanford in the Vale]]. It leads on to [[Lechlade]], where it crosses the [[River Thames]] at [[St John's Bridge, Lechlade|St John's Bridge]]. It then runs past the [[Cotswold Water Park]], through the bottleneck of [[Fairford]] to [[Cirencester]], and thence to [[Gloucester]].

The {{convert|2|mi|adj=on}} £2.4m single-carriageway [[Birdlip]] [[Bypass (road)|bypass]] opened in December 1988. This point, before the ''Air Balloon'' roundabout, has a grand vista of the [[River Severn|Severn]] Valley. After the roundabout and the (now demolished) [[The Air Balloon, Birdlip|Air Balloon pub]], the road turns sharply and there is a steep downward gradient. This is a [[Bottleneck (traffic)|bottleneck]] at peak times, and plans for a dual-carriageway section here were included in a roads expansion programme pledged during the government's 2014 Autumn Statement for delivery during the following 5–8 years.<ref>{{cite web|title=Major roads investment in the south west|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-roads-investment-in-the-south-west|publisher=Gov.uk|access-date=6 December 2014|date=1 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2019 |title=A417 proposals review |url=https://gloucestershireramblers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/GR-A417-HE-Proposals-Review-2019-10.pdf |access-date=21 August 2022 |website=Gloucestershire Ramblers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Unofficial map of proposed routes |url=http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=51.842751,-2.09782&spn=0.005581,0.006319&t=h&z=17&msid=111276852347069617339.0004688cd2fde18f37eac |access-date=21 August 2022 |publisher=Google Maps}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=August 2022|reason=Timescale extended}}

From the start of the Cirencester bypass as far as Gloucester, the A417 forms part of a dual-carriageway route ([[A419 road|A419]]/A417) connecting the [[M4 motorway|M4]] (junction 15) with the [[M5 motorway|M5]] at Gloucester (junction 11A). At the [[A429 road|A429]] roundabout on the older Cirencester bypass, the A417 follows the A429 north for {{convert|0.5|mi|1}}, then resumes when it joins the newer bypass (which is also the A417). The {{convert|6|mi|adj=on}} Cirencester & [[Stratton, Gloucestershire|Stratton]] Bypass opened on 9 December 1997. This route carries traffic between the ports of the south coast and the industrial Midlands. The {{convert|4|mi|adj=on}} dual-carriageway north of Stratton to Nettleton opened on 16 January 1998. {{citation needed|date=March 2019}} The roundabout at the end of this section often has congestion during peak hours. {{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

Construction work to complete the 'missing link' between the end of the Brockworth Bypass and Cowley Roundabout began in 2023, with an expected completion date of Spring 2027. At the foot of the hill, the {{convert|3|mi|adj=on}} £36m [[Brockworth]] Bypass opened in December 1995, and included creation of junction 11a of the [[M5 motorway|M5]].

===Gloucester (M5) to Hope under Dinmore===

Through [[Gloucester]], the road overlaps the [[A40 road|A40]] Gloucester northern bypass, and from a roundabout at the end of the bypass the road goes north-west through the village of [[Maisemore]], past [[Hartpury College]], then through the village of [[Hartpury]]. The A417 then passes through the twin villages of [[Corse, Gloucestershire|Corse]] and [[Staunton (near Gloucester)|Staunton]]. It crosses the [[M50 motorway (Great Britain)|M50 Ross Spur]] motorway at junction 2, then meets the [[Ledbury]] bypass, where the road noticeably widens out, and has many large roundabouts. Between Gloucester and Ledbury there are many changes of [[speed limit]]. From Ledbury it goes west, overlapping the A438, then at a set of traffic lights known as the [[Trumpet, Herefordshire|Trumpet]] crossroads, the A417 goes north-west along a more high-hedged, narrow road. It meets the [[A49 road|A49]] at a wide junction at [[Hope under Dinmore]] just south of [[Leominster]].

==Junctions==
{{RJL|date=December 2021}}

{| border=1 cellpadding=2 style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom: 1em; color: black; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" class="wikitable"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#00703C" style="color: #ffd200;font-size:120%;"
| colspan="3" | '''A417 (T)''' 
|- align="center"
| '''Northbound exits'''
| '''Junction'''
| '''Southbound exits'''
|- align="center"
| [[Ross-on-Wye|Ross]] '''[[A40 road|A40]]''', [[Ledbury]] ('''A417'''), [[Chepstow]] ('''[[A48 road|A48]]''') <br> [[Cheltenham]] '''A40''', [[Tewkesbury]], [[Bristol]] ('''[[M5 motorway|M5]]''')
| Elm Bridge Court
| ''Start of A417 (T)''
|-align="center"
| [[Gloucester]] ('''[[A38 road|A38]]''')
| Corinium Avenue Roundabout
| Gloucester ('''A38''')
|-align="center"
| Local routes
| Zoons Court Roundabout
| Local routes
|- align="center"
| [[Midlands|The Midlands]] '''[[M5 motorway|M5]]'''
| rowspan="2"| M5 J11A
| {{no2}}''No exit or access''
|- align="center"
| {{no2}}[[South West England|The South West]] [[Bristol]] ('''M5'''), Gloucester Business Park <br> ''Exit only''
| The SOUTH WEST Bristol ('''M5''')
|-align="center"
| [[Cheltenham]], [[Stroud]] '''[[A46 road|A46]]'''
| Primrose Vale
| Cheltenham, Stroud '''A46'''
|- align="center"
| [[Stow on the Wold]] '''A436''', [[Oxford]] ('''[[A40 road|A40]]'''), [[Cheltenham|Cheltenham (East)]] ('''[[A435]]''')
| Air Balloon Roundabout
| Stow on the Wold '''A436''', Oxford ('''A40''')
|- align="center"
| [[Cowley, Gloucestershire|Cowley]], Caudle Green, [[Brimpsfield]]
| Cowley Roundabout
| Cowley, Caudle Green, Brimpsfield
|-align="center"
| Syde, [[Winstone]], [[Elkstone]]
| Winstone Junction
| Syde, Winstone, Elkstone
|-align="center"
| [[Daglingworth]], [[Bagendon]], Perrott's Brook
| Daglingworth Junction
| [[Stratton, Gloucestershire|Stratton]], Daglingworth, Bagendon, Perrott's Brook
|-align="center"
| [[Cirencester]], [[Stow-on-the-Wold|Stow]] '''[[A429]]''', [[Burford]] ('''B4425''')
| Cirencester North Interchange
| Cirencester, Stow '''A429''', Lechdale ('''A417''')
|- align="center"
| ''Start of A417 (T)''
| rowspan="2"| Cirencester South Interchange
| {{no2}}''Access only''
|- align="center"
|  {{no2}}Cirencester Industrial Area, [[Stroud]] '''[[A419]]''' <br> ''Exit only''
| ''Road becomes A419 (T) to [[Swindon]]''
{{jctbtm|keys=incomplete}}

==See also==
*[[British road numbering scheme]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/south-west/a417-missing-link/ National Highways: A417 Missing Link scheme]
* [https://a417missinglink.com/ Kier / National Highways: A417 Missing Link progress, events, closures and diversions]

{{GB A road zone 4}}
{{Motorways and Trunk Roads in England|state=collapsed}}
{{Transport in Gloucestershire}}

{{coord|51.74627|N|1.98097|W|type:landmark_region:GB_dim:30000|display=title}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0417}}
[[Category:Roads in England]]
[[Category:Roads in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Transport in Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:Transport in Herefordshire]]
[[Category:Roads in Oxfordshire]]