Council chiefs have pledged £100,000 to try to fix South Gloucestershire’s “most frustrating road junction” amid a row over the cost.

The traffic lights where the north and south ends of Filton Avenue meet Station Road “divide Filton in two” and prompted a campaign by Tory ward councillor Chris Wood which raised a 500-name petition and support from MP Jack Lopresti.

But at a South Gloucestershire Council cabinet meeting on Monday, October 7, Filton ward Labour councillor Adam Monk criticised the cost of the project as “frustrating” because it was twice as much as a similar project four years ago that stalled.

The junction, between the M32 and the A38, is used daily by thousands of residents, commuters and students from nearby UWE.

Its layout means motorists travelling from the north end of Filton Avenue to the south have to drive to the already congested MoD Abbey Wood or Air Balloon roundabouts.

Cllr Wood, whose campaign called for the junction to be “all moving” to stop drivers from being forced to perform the U-turns at the roundabouts, told the meeting: “This is the most frustrating junction in the whole of South Gloucestershire.

“It divides Filton in two.

“The effect of opening this junction would be fantastic for residents, particularly those heading from Filton Avenue north to Filton Avenue south.

“It will help motorists, residents, students and commuters.”

Cllr Monk said: “There was a report done four years ago for half that value but its recommendations were not implemented.

“The amount of money from the public purse is frustrating for that piece of road.

“Until you’ve implemented the original recommendations, why commission another report?”

Conservative council leader Toby Savage said: “Funding that has been set aside for the junction does not have to be all drawn down.

“The fact is that a lot has changed in the last four years in terms of traffic and other transport interventions that have come on stream, not least MetroBus.

“So it is right that we take a fresh look at what’s going on at that particular junction.

“The budget is there to ensure the work can be funded but it does not all have to be spent.”

The project is subject to a separate Department for Transport decision about the MoD roundabout.