Work to overhaul the A361 Caen Hill on the edge of Devizes could begin soon after Wiltshire Council said the project was moving ahead and construction may start before the end of the financial year.
The scheme centres on junction changes at Marsh Lane and Devizes Road, where sensor-controlled traffic lights are planned to help manage traffic without stopping vehicles on the A361 when no one is waiting to turn in or out. Cllr Martin Smith said the project is “continuing to progress” and added that delivery is being programmed within this financial year.
The push follows a record of repeated collisions on the stretch between Foxhangers and Mayenne Place. Crashmap data shows nearly 30 crashes there between 2015 and 2024, a pattern that has kept pressure on the council to act on what has long been treated as a dangerous part of the route.
Wiltshire Council said last year that it was moving ahead with the traffic-light plan at Marsh Lane and Devizes Road as part of a £22 million road-safety investment announced in 2024. That wider funding has already paid for traffic lights at the A360 Black Dog crossroads, and the A361 scheme is now one of its most closely watched pieces.
Smith said the plan is designed to improve safety on the busy route through changes to junctions, crossings, drainage, lighting and road surfacing. Other ideas under discussion include safety barriers along the centre of the dual carriageway, improvements to electricity cabling and street lighting, drainage works to reduce standing water and flood risk, a better pedestrian crossing, access to bus stops and resurfacing along the route.
There is still one issue that has not been settled. Wiltshire Council held a consultation last year on cutting the national speed limit on the road to 50mph, after Devizes Town Council pushed for action to slow vehicles entering the town from Caen Hill. That debate matters because the junction redesign may improve how traffic moves, but it does not by itself answer the long-running concern about speed on the approach into Devizes.
Smith said further details will be shared once the phasing of the works is confirmed. For drivers on the A361, the next step is now clearer than it has been for years: the council is not just talking about safety at Caen Hill, it is getting ready to build it.
