Grass verge cutting to make Andoversford and Cirencester safer
Cotswold District Council’s waste service provider Ubico Ltd will be working in partnership with Gloucestershire County Council and their contractor Ringway to cut grass, clear litter and sweep surfaces on the verges of the A40 dual carriageway and the Cirencester bypass including a section of the A419.
The work at Cirencester will include closing the road from the Kings Meadow roundabout to Preston Tollbar from 7:30 am to 5 pm for a deep clean between 1 and 3 July.
Signed diversion routes will be in place and have been developed to accommodate Heavy Goods Vehicle movements.
As part of the operation, crews from Ubico will clear litter immediately after machines have cut the grass verges. A further machine will then be used to empty roadside gullies. Finally, the entire road will be swept by Ubico to remove other debris leaving the A40 and A419 ring road much safer – and attractive for road users.
Rob Heath, Area Operations Manager Ubico, says: “This is a real team effort, including ourselves, Gloucestershire County Council and Cotswold District Council. The works will be well planned and supervised to both enable our staff to carry out the work safely and reduce disruption to motorists and pedestrians.
“We carried out a similar joint exercise in Cirencester last year and many people were impressed with the improvements at the time, especially the enhanced safety for users.”
His remarks were echoed by Cotswold District Council Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Andrew Doherty, who added: “We know that long grass on verges can be problematic for motorists, especially on busy routes like the Andoversford dual carriageway and the Cirencester ring road, and I am very pleased that work will get underway soon to improve visibility.
“I am also very grateful to the Ubico crews for their litter picking operations across the whole District. Their efforts – combined with those of the public – make a big difference in our efforts to keep the Cotswolds tidy – and safe.”