MORE people are being urged to get behind a campaign to convince the government that the A417 loop is the only option to fix the 'missing link' blackspot.

The fight for funding started in January this year, and has quickly gathered pace with more than 6,000 people already signed up.

Gloucestershire County Council is reminding people why the A417 loop is the best solution and why the government need to give out the full £255 million to improve the 'notorious' road.

The council has also been looking to MPs in Westminster to help them have their voice heard and has produced a pledge form outlining the problems, in a bid to encourage more signatures.

Nine per cent of all fatalities on Gloucestershire’s roads in 2013 happened on this five kilometre stretch of the A417, connecting the M4 at Swindon and the M5 at Gloucester. It is hoped that the loop solution will help reduce number of accidents and lead to less congestion and pollution.

Leader of GCC Cllr Mark Hawthorne said: “The government has previously investigated a large number of different solutions for the missing link, but their own work concluded that the A417 Loop was the only answer. “Lower cost options, perhaps concentrating only on the Air Balloon roundabout, would only solve a small part of the problem. The Highways Agency’s own study showed that the full A417 Loop is the only real solution.

“We want to remind people across Gloucestershire why we started this campaign in the first place and the urgent need to act now.”

The Air Balloon roundabout, which is a key part of the missing link section, is forecasted to be running 30 per cent over capacity by 2026.

The route already sees more than 34,000 vehicles a day and in the past 15 years there has been more than 340 casualties following accidents on that stretch of road.

Visit a417missinglink.co.uk to support the campaign.