Frustrated motorists say they have faced long delays due to a new mini roundabout installed near the Air Balloon Roundabout.

National Highways installed a temporary roundabout at the A436/Leckhampton Hill junction to allow for a new haul road into the works compound for the A417 missing link project.

They say this has been done to significantly reduce the level of construction traffic travelling on the main A417 by limiting the number of vehicle movements and distance throughout the build.

But drivers coming from the east say they have been stuck in traffic for up to 45 minutes with tailbacks going as far as Seven Springs.

“The new mini roundabout which has been installed on the A436/Leckhampton Hill road junction has completely changed the traffic flow from that direction onto the Air Balloon roundabout,” one driver said.

“Traffic from Leckhampton Hill Road now gets priority over traffic heading towards the Air Balloon roundabout on the A436, this is now causing queues from the mini roundabout right back to the Severn Springs pub at peak hours.

“I’ve spent at least 45 minutes a day this week sitting in that queue. It was never this bad before they installed the mini roundabout.”

Councillor Paul Hodgkinson (LD, Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach), who represents the area on Gloucestershire County Council, said the approach to the new roundabout on the A436 is certainly slower than it was.

“The queues are a lot longer, especially in the afternoon, so the driver does have a point,” he said.

“On the plus side the queues from Leckhampton Hill are greatly reduced. It’s not ideal but the roundabout is safer than the T-junction that was there previously.”

Steve Foxley, A417 Missing Link Project Director, said the scheme is incredibly important for Gloucestershire’s future and they are doing everything they can to limit disruption to the 40,000 daily users.

“The new temporary Leckhampton Hill roundabout will allow for a new haul road into the works compound, significantly reducing the level of construction traffic travelling on the main A417 by limiting the number of vehicle movements and distance throughout the build,” he said.

“It has also improved safety by removing the need for motorists pulling out of Leckhampton Hill to a standing point on the central reservation.

“Ahead of the roundabout installation, we installed AI based traffic monitoring to assess numbers and driver behaviour, and we will reinstall this shortly as we continue to monitor the situation. In the meantime, we thank people for their patience during these temporary arrangements.”