THERE is no relief is in sight for Worcester's traffic-congested southern link road - the number one accident blackspot in the city

Improvements at Powick roundabout would have been carried out next year, as part of a £2.7 million plan to improve traffic flow at the chief junctions on the city's southern bypass.

Now central Government has turned down a bid for funding.

An initial £700,000 for the first phase of work has been refused, along with two other bids for supplementary funds under Worcestershire County Council's Local Transport Plan.

"The primary focus was on Powick roundabout, because there have been serious problems of traffic management there. But this has been rejected for the second year in succession," said county council cabinet member and district councillor Tom Wells.

"The police say it is the number one accident spot in Worcestershire and there were two nasty accidents there only last weekend.

"I shall call on the county council to prioritise this scheme in its own funding for traffic improvements."

The county had also hoped for an extra £1.6 million towards rebuilding Upton-upon-Severn viaduct and £1.2 million for the Market Towns Initiative of traffic management schemes for Pershore, Evesham, Bewdley and Stourport-on-Severn.

Both the southern link and market towns schemes are now on hold, but the Upton viaduct scheme is already in progress.

"Inevitably it means other areas of the programme will have to be put on hold to meet the £1.6 million shortfall," said county transport manager John Seddon.

He said the southern link road scheme, which includes improvements to the Ketch and Whittington roundabouts, would now go into the melting pot with other schemes, to vie for inclusion in the next five-year Local Transport Plan.

"We will submit this plan to Government in July, which means that 2006-2007 would be the earliest any of the schemes could start," he said.

West Worcestershire MP Sir Michael Spicer said the refusal of supplementary credit was very bad news for motorists.

Motorists crossing the new bridge at Worcester will continue to queue at peak hours. "It all adds up to the same old story of Government raising taxes on motorists and failing to provide them with an adequate road network," he said.