CRACKS have been found in Britain’s motorway “ghost junction” – despite no cars ever driving on it.
The £40million construction is set for further delays while repairs are organised.
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A UK motorway built six years ago is in need of repairs – despite not one vehicle ever using the road.
Dubbed a “ghost junction”, the eye-watering £40million construction was built over the M49 near Bristol and is now Britain’s most expensive dead end.
The junction itself finished construction in December 2019 and was built by National Highways, but it was never connected to local routes, meaning the road leads to nowhere.
Cracks were spotted in the route’s surface within two years of construction finishing, and now the area is in need of repairs.
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Roads minister Justin Madders said that “defects were visible on the junction in 2021, including loss of topsoil and surface cracking” when speaking in the House of Commons.
He continued: “These came to light as part of the standard inspections that take place across the network and, at that stage, these were not deemed significant, and National Highways put standard operating arrangements in place to monitor the structure.
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“However, this ongoing monitoring identified the need to undertake detailed investigations, which were commissioned in 2025, resulting in the identification of geotechnical issues.”
Mr Madders added that these later investigations “will allow the root cause of defects to be better understood – and this is ongoing and can only be confirmed once engagement with the contractor has concluded”.
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The junction, which connects Severn Beach and Chittering on the southwest coast, was going to help reduce traffic congestion on local routes, including the A403, but has been closed since construction was finished.
The closure has frustrated locals in particular, as lorries accessing the industrial park are forced to drive through local villages rather than using the motorway.
It did finally seem that the junction would be completed in full, with reports earlier this year indicating the site would be open from autumn of this year.
However, the news of repairs will likely lead to further delays.
The distribution park includes retailers such as Amazon, Tesco, Lidl, Next, DHL and The Range.
Liberal Democrat MP for Thornbury and Yate, Claire Young, branded the spot as a “ghost junction”.
She continued: “A junction built by National Highways, completed six years ago and signed off as finished, cannot safely carry traffic until National Highways repairs it.
“Is the minister as baffled as I am?”
Ms Young added that although the empty junction remained isolated from the local road network, “the A403, the B4461, and others are facing misuse by HGVs”.
She followed on to say: “Horse riders, agricultural vehicles, and families are finding it difficult to access the roads.”
Responding to Ms Young, Mr Madders replied that “the Government has already provided around £10 million of support to support the development of the link road” to the junction.
He added: “There are limits to the funding we can provide, but we will commit to prioritising the technical issues that we described today.
“The Government’s approach is clear – National Highways must identify the right engineering solution, agree an appropriate delivery route to protect taxpayers’ interests and provide stakeholders with realistic, deliverable timescales.”
The minister also warned “it is not possible to provide a definitive timeline for remedial works”.
He said: “Responsibility, liability and funding matters remain subject to ongoing technical and commercial discussions but once these are concluded, National Highways will be able to develop detailed designs for the necessary remedial works and to establish a delivery programme.
“It would not be possible or appropriate to announce arbitrary dates before those assessments are complete or before a deliverable programme has been confirmed.”
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Mr Madders said: “The public do not distinguish between a motorway junction, a local link road, a developer obligation, a council-led connection and a National Highways asset – they see one road, one promise, and one delayed outcome.
“So, we must be clear as a Government and delivery bodies that managing infrastructure must be done coherently with clear accountabilities, dependencies and communications.”