highway

A new £110m bypass connecting Torbay and Newton Abbot in South Devon, UK, has been officially opened.

Built to carry approximately 35,000 vehicles every day, the 3.5-mile highway is expected to boost the tourism industry of the region.

Roads minister Andrew Jones said: "The road will help create new jobs and give a welcome economic boost to the region, but most importantly end the unpredictable travel times for drivers."

The new South Devon Highway, A380, is expected to save travel times by up to 15min each day.

"The road will help create new jobs and give a welcome economic boost to the region."

Completed within scheduled time and on budget, the new South Devon Highway is expected to produce a return of approximately £1bn on the £110m investment.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "Better infrastructure is vital to improve people’s lives in the south west, and this new link road is doing exactly that by making local journeys quicker and easier.

"After a tireless local campaign, we pledged new funding to make this important project a reality, and today’s announcement shows we have delivered on our promise.

"This government is determined to get Britain building again which is why in my Spending Review I set out how we will invest over £100bn in the UK’s infrastructure."

The route bypasses the village of Kingskerswell, shifting the traffic congestion away from the centre.

Approximately 1 million vehicles used to travel through the village every month. A large majority of these vehicles will now use the new route.

A group of 2,600 workers have laboured for nearly 1.5 million hours to complete the project over a period of 42 months.

In total, there are nine bridges along the route, with around 4,000m of retaining walls and nine major culverts. A 270m-long railway tunnel was built as part of the project.

Image: The 3.5-mile South Devon Highway is expected to carry approximately 35,000 vehicles each day. Photo: courtesy of the UK Government.