DECEMBER 12, 2000
Silverstone looks forward to new road system...
THE Silverstone racing circuit has long been criticized for the poor access roads in the area which cause enormous congestion at the British Grand Prix but even before the disastrous race in April, the British Department of the Environment has finally announced plans to upgrade the main A43 to provide a much better strategic link between the M40 and M1 motorways.
The work, which will cost a total of $150m, will not be completed until the end of next year, will be a huge bonus for Silverstone as the five-mile Silverstone bypass will feature an overpass at the Dadford Road, the main route into the circuit, with ramps feeding cars on and off the new highway. Silverstone has applied to have the Dadford Road widened and upgraded as well to ensure that the flow of traffic is maintained from the interchange to the circuit itself.
The management of the traffic will be greatly improved by the fact that the old A43 will remain in place and so at Grand Prix time, incoming traffic can be divided so that there will no long be congestion as cars from the south head for the northern car parks and vice versa.
The upgrading work has already started down near the M40 and to the north of Brackley but work will soon start in the Silverstone area as well. Construction is going to be a feature of the area for the next couple of years as the new Jaguar Racing and Jordan Grand Prix factories and the upgrading of the Silverstone circuit itself is all going to be taking place at the same time.