Worcestershire County Council has gone out to tender on the £70m fourth and final phase of its A4440 Worcester southern link road improvement scheme.

Above: Third phase works on the A4440 Norton to Whittington

The county council is advertising for a contractor to carry out the design and construction for Phase 4 on an early contractor involvement (ECI) basis.

This section of the scheme includes dualling the A4440 between Ketch and Powick roundabouts, including Carrington Bridge.

The council describes the southern link road as one of the county’s most important routes, providing a link between Worcester and the M5 with the south of the county and Herefordshire. It also provides a bypass for the city and residential areas.

Contractor Alun Griffiths began phase three works to reconfigure the Norton roundabout in October 2015 and is due to complete this winter.

The contract notice in the European Union Official Journal states that the start date fo rthe fourth phase contract is to be 15th February 2017.