Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has announced four new road improvement schemesa to create thousands of jobs and homes in the South West, supported by investment from private sector developers.

The latest Highways England motorway schemes will bring improvements to the South West

A total of £5m will be invested in improvements to the intersection of the M4 Junction 15 and the A419 near Swindon to unlock one of the largest housing and commercial developments in the country. Construction of the scheme will start in 2018.

£4.5m will be invested in the A30 / M5 J29 Tithebarn Link Road, which will release three housing and employment sites at the intersection of the A30 / A303 and the M5 to the east of Exeter. The scheme comprises a new cycle bridge over the M5 and a new link road connected to the M30. It will also reduce traffic on the A30 link to the M5 J29 and provide an alternative to the existing route crossing the M5 at junction 29. The scheme is supported by £4.6m in contributions from the developer and will open in March 2019.

£750,000 funding to improve the northbound M5 at Junction 21, near Weston-super-Mare., to help support ‘Weston Villages’ develop 6,000 new houses and 4,000 new jobs to the west of the M5 at Junction 21. The scheme will be completed in 2018.

£1.01 million will be used to improve junction 58 of the A1(M) at Darlington, unlocking two development sites which could see the construction of 1,200 homes and create 5,000 new jobs. The work, which is due to complete in 2017, will include improvements to the A68 Rotary Way roundabout and the West Park Garden Village Link Road. The scheme will be delivered in March 2018.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “We’re undertaking the biggest modernisation programme for a generation to bring our roads into the 21st century and give people the safe and reliable journeys they expect. But these improvements will do even more – allowing the construction of thousands of homes and the creation of thousands of jobs to give a huge boost to the area’s economy.

“Highways England is investing more than £11 million in these four schemes from its Growth and Housing Fund, with private sector developer contributions making up the rest.”