Indeed .... and the new link road to Bowerhill will be most welcome.

Melksham is a rapidly growing town - it's risen from around 18,000 to around 24,000 (population) since we moved here about six years ago; there's some local employment, but many people who live in the town work in Swindon, Chippenham and Trowbridge, all of which have also grown heavily.   Swindon is set for major growth right through the next 20 years.  There's also quite a few people who work in Bath (although that's not so much of a work town) and Bristol.

The A350 is a bit of a problem.   The Semington bypass that the article talks about was only opened a couple of years back, and  it has slashed the journey time by road from Melksham to Trowbridge from three quarters an hour (at busy times of day) to around 20 minutes (a little longer by bus).   However, the A350 remains heavily congested at the North end of Melksham and through Beanacre where sections through suburban housing and a village are a bottleneck in the rush hour, and where accidents are common.   And there's usually congestion through Westbury and around the outskirts of Chippenham too.

The roadworks are Knocking the 234 service for 6 at the moment, last night I was in Beckington at 5:45 when the bus should have picked up at 5:20.  The driver said it was like it all day.   Not to mention that the A350 was closed at Stoney gutter due to an accident.....