A SLIP road designed to ease congestion at one of the town’s major roundabouts is open after seven months of work.

The new road links Mannington Retail Park to Great Western Way. It is hoped this will reduce the amount of traffic leaving the shopping area at the Wootton Bassett Road exit and entering Mannington Roundabout there.

Work was originally scheduled for 12 weeks and was due to be complete in September.

It is part of a £3.2m scheme for the area, funded by the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

Inside the retail park, Telford Way has been widened to allow for a two-way road and new signs have been installed to simplify the layout for drivers.

Councillor Maureen Penny, the cabinet member for transport and the environment, said: “Mannington Roundabout is a key junction in Swindon so it is incredibly important we keep traffic moving as best we can with the increasing number of vehicles on our roads.

“We now have more queuing capacity on Tewkesbury Way and Wootton Bassett Road and the latest work to build the new slip road will enable people to exit the shopping park without having to go all the way back out onto the roundabout.

“This is just one of a number of improvement scheme we are carrying out in Swindon as we continue to invest millions of pounds upgrading our road network for local residents.”

The slip road is part of the wider works to Mannington roundabout which is designed to improve traffic flow and help congestion at peak times.

Earlier works included the removal of the Wootton Bassett Road bus lane to create extra queuing capacity and widening the roundabout near the Fish Brothers garage to improve traffic flow.

John Mortimer, chairman of Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “The SWLEP is investing £8.92m in three schemes in the Swindon area to improve the quality and efficiency of bus routes serving strategic housing developments.

“We are pleased that the completion of work at Mannington Roundabout brings to a conclusion the first of these schemes, improving bus links between the town centre and the growing Wichelstowe development.

“As well as specific improvements around Mannington Roundabout area, this project will improve access to the town centre for Swindon residents, reduce journey times, support economic activity in the town and help lower Swindon’s carbon footprint.

“It is the most recent example of investment from SWLEP’s £169m Local Growth deal with central government to develop a growing and sustainable economy in the Swindon and Wiltshire area.”