JUNE 19, 2002

Silverstone bypass to open in around eight weeks

THE British Highways Agency has announced that the Silverstone bypass, one of the highest profile elements in a $3bn improvement program across the country, will open in around two months time.

The news was announced by the company's chief executive Tim Matthews when he opened the first of the new roads in the program at Polegate in Sussex. It is the first of 53 such schemes which includes the $100m upgrade of the A43, the road on which many a race fan has spent many an hour trying to get into Silverstone. The 53 schemes are due for completion in 2007 but a special effort was made to ensure that the Silverstone bypass had priority in order to safeguard the future of the British GP. And while the road will not be officially opened for a couple more months it is expected that sections of it will be used at this year's British GP to help ease the traffic flow in and out of the circuit.