THE Government has today, Tuesday, July 8, approved funding for the final phase of improvement work to the A382.

The announcement from the Department of Transport means that Devon County Council (DCC) can go ahead with its planned closure between Newton Abbot and the Trago Mills roundabout.

The council are looking at a 12 month closure from September.

The scheme was estimated at around £60 million when originally drawn up in 2019/20, but the scope of the project has had to be revised in line with the budget made available from Government.

DCC have been awarded £38 million, the Mid-Devon Advertiser can confirm.

The project will still include an upgraded and re-aligned road between Forches Cross and Stover, which will link to the completed first phase of the project, with a new roundabout being developed north of Forches Cross.

The Jetty Marsh Link road and Whitehills roundabout will also be constructed, including walking and cycling links.

The amount of DfT funding has been reduced since the scheme was originally designed and, when combined with increased inflationary costs, it means not all of the proposed improvements can now be delivered.

The section of widening from Drumbridges to Stover and improvements at Exeter Road, for example, are being removed from the project.

Devon County Council says improvements in these areas remain priorities for delivery at a later date as funding opportunities arise.

Councillor Sally Morgan, County Councillor for Bovey Rural, said: ‘While I’m very disappointed that the entire route is delayed, particularly the section around Drumbridges, I’m pleased to see that the planned cycling and walking links are still being included in the next phase.

‘Those links were crucial during the planning phase in getting the road approved by councillors.

‘I hope, when the final section is completed, that residents can safely use this route without always having to rely on a car’.

The announcement comes as local business man Tony Joyner, owner of Plants Galore, expressed his anger and frustration at the prospect of the road being closed, which would be the second time this year.

‘It is immoral to close the road for 12 months and leave all our businesses to die and our employees out of work,’ says Tony.

‘DCC could carry out all this work but still keep these key roads open using traffic control, but it would cost them more money to build the improvement over a longer period of time with a more intelligent strategy.

‘The contractor and DCC have therefore decided that the wider Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton business community should simply suffer and directly carry the cost and inconvenience to build this road improvement by causing maximum traffic chaos and cost to all local people’.

‘There must be another way’, the business man added.

A spokesperson for DCC said: ‘Traffic modelling has shown that closing the road will allow the length of the construction programme to be shortened and reduces impact on journey times.

‘Real time journey time information on a choice of diversion routes would be displayed on a number of variable messaging signs in the area, to give the travelling public information to plan their journeys’.