Adders are having radio tags glued to them in the Cotswolds
Reptiles are being moved to special sites as preliminary work on the A417 Missing Link[1] dual-carriageway continues in Gloucestershire. National Highways has been prepping the site for the massive road building project by acting to safeguard the wildlife at the area near Birdlip which is an Area of Outstanding National Beauty.
One creature that is being taken care of is the adder. As part of the reptile translocations, a small number of adders will be tagged before they are released, National Highways[2] said in its latest update.
It said: “Radio-tags are attached to the adders with glue, and these will stay on the adders until they shed their skin later on in the year. This will provide some very interesting and much needed data to see how far the individuals travel in their new locations.”
As well as adders, reptiles, such as slow worms, common lizards, and grass snakes will be moved into receptor sites. The reptile fencing is now almost complete and combined with the recent warm weather, this means the reptile translocations can begin.
Main engineering work on the 3.4mile Missing Link traffic scheme[4] will begin in the autumn with the road due to open in early 2027. It will replace the single-carriageway stretch between the Air Balloon and Cowley roundabouts, proving full dual carriageway links from the M5 junction at Brockworth in Gloucestershire to the M4 junction at Swindon, Wiltshire.
References
- ^ A417 Missing Link (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ National Highways (nationalhighways.co.uk)
- ^ Major retailer to leave Cheltenham as pasty shop plans to move in (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Missing Link traffic scheme (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)