Business leaders are celebrating after a landmark step forward in the A417 Missing Link project.

They said work to upgrade the "death trap" stretch of road between Gloucester and Swindon could not come soon enough.

Campaigners have been lobbying for 20 years for the single-carriageway between the Brockworth bypass and Cowley roundabout to be improved, spurred on by the heavy congestion and accidents which plague the road.

This week Kier Highways was awarded a £460m contract by National Highways to design and deliver an upgrade to the 3.4 mile stretch in Gloucestershire.

Ian Mean, Business West Gloucestershire director and vice chair of GFirstLEP, said it was victory at last for those who had fought for the project, which marked a "levelling up" for the county.

He campaigned for 15 years during his tenure as editor-in-chief of the Citizen and Echo newspapers with support from the county council and MPs.

He said: "Business will finally start to breathe a sigh of relief as the cost of transport delays around the three mile stretch at Crickley Hill can run into thousands of pounds a day. It is a death trap too."

Mr Mean "took his hat off" to Michael Goddard, project director for the A417 from National Highways, whose team battled to get the work in the government's strategic road plan.

He added: "Given a fair wind, it now looks like there could be spades in the ground on the project by early next year."

David Owen, CEO, GFirst LEP, also celebrated the step forward as "excellent news". He said the Missing Link was of crucial importance to the economy of Gloucestershire and a number of neighbouring areas.

The road is a major strategic route from the Midlands to London, Thames Valley, key airports and the south coast ports. It is also a major tourist route to the Cotswolds, Cheltenham and Gloucester, and the Forest of Dean which he said already attracts around two million tourists spending over £1 billion every year.

Mr Owen said the current road was regarded by businesses as "hampering economic growth across the region."

Steve Rich, operations director at Creed Foodservice, said: "This is very welcome news. If only it could be done tomorrow."

The Staverton Bridge based business is one of the UK's leading independent food wholesalers with daily deliveries across the UK.

Mr Rich said almost half its fleet head east to deliver to hospitals, schools and care homes in the surrounding counties and the A417 was an "ongoing daily problem" which impacted negatively on costs, driver morale and the environment.

He added: "The annual costs for companies like ours are by no means negligible. Taking into account the increased costs of fuel, increased vehicle servicing due to excess idling time, plus our drivers' overtime, we have calculated the cost to be in excess of £25,000 per annum. When you multiply this by the hundreds of other companies using the A417, it is obviously having a detrimental effect on the whole county's economy in the short and long term. "

Daniel O'Neill, founder and chief executive of ProCook based in Gloucester, said he was also in favour of the upgrade and hopes it improves life for commuters and visitors in Gloucestershire.

He added: "As one of the many drivers who use this route on their way to work, we know that accidents are frequent and delays practically a daily occurrence.

"With any development of this scale there will obviously be a disruption to wildlife, but on balance it seems the right decision and less congestion will certainly be better for the environment."

Moreton Cullimore, managing director of Cullimore Group based near Whitminster, said the project was "vital" for reducing congestion in Gloucestershire and in turn emissions and pollution.

He added: "I just hope they use local suppliers for the work. I've seen a lot of big government and local government projects awarded recently use contractors from far afield rather then the local businesses on the doorstep. The canal project under the A38 to use one example.

"If we want local economies to thrive then some work should go to the local employers rather then bring in contractors who contribute nothing locally and then move back out of the area."

The Planning Inspectorate has until May 16 to examine the Development Consent Order application, which is needed for all Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects prior to construction starting.

It will recommend a decision to the Secretary of State for Transport in the Summer and final decision is expected in November 2022.