SUPER HIGHWAY TO SUPERSTORE
19 November 2001
The Mayor of Swindon, councillor David Cox, has officially opened the Northern Orbital Road. The four-kilometre stretch of dual carriageway provides the first stage of an important bypass to the north of Swindon.
The road gives immediate access to the new Asda Wal-Mart store. It also provides the necessary infrastructure to begin work on the planned community of Priory Vale. This development of some 5,500 new homes promises to set a new benchmark for urban design, and will offer all the convenience of town living, in a rural setting.
"The Northern Orbital Road is a blueprint for successful partnership between the public and private sectors," said Priory Vale project manager Paul Springgay. "The private sector, in the form of the North Swindon Development Company, has procured for £15-million, a road which opens up for development a major site for 5,500 new homes. The legacy for the public sector, in the form of Swindon Borough Council, is a major arterial road which will eventually link up in the west with Great Western Way and then to Junction 16 of the M4. In so doing it will provide an important bypass linking north and west Swindon, and relieving the ever-worsening traffic congestion through central Swindon. The people of Swindon will also benefit from a full range of schools, community facilities and shopping destinations to be facilitated by the Northern Orbital Road and to be built with a mix of private and public sector finance at Priory Vale."
"To further improve local road networks, NSDC is also giving Swindon Borough Council a further £18-million as a contribution towards improving the Cricklade Road, and other off-site roads."
The eagerly awaited Asda Wal-Mart store opens on November 26th, and with its 97,000 square feet of retail space, promises to delight the most experienced shoppers. Parking, which has long been a problem in Swindon will not only be free but also in plentiful supply.
General store manager of the new ASDA Wal-Mart super centre, Mark Pollard, comments: "The new road will be an excellent resource for our customers. It will make the super centre easily accessible and will ease traffic congestion for cars. It will certainly help make shopping at our store an easy, stress free experience."
The next phase in the re-vamp of the development's infrastructure includes the widening of the current single carriageway stretching between the eastern end of the Haydon Development and Lady Lane. The upgrade to dual carriageway has been on the cards since the outset of the northern expansion project. The final product of these enhancements will be a major, fully serviced community north of Swindon, with a free flowing traffic system.
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