Workers using this subway felt it had become so dangerous that Zurich has stumped up half the £80,000 needed to put in a pedestrian crossing across Princes Street. Now other walkways could face closure under a review.

AN £80,000 crossing that could be a nail in the coffin of underpasses in Swindon is nearing completion.

Although no plans are on the table yet, the decision to build the Princes Street crossing in competition with the Whalebridge roundabout can be seen as a pointer to the future.

Subways are not favoured by the New Swindon Company, the body set up by the Government to redraw the map of Swindon and make it more attractive to locals and visitors alike.

And early this year another underpass, beneath Queen's Drive in Walcot, was permanently blocked off after years of complaints from pedestrians.

The New Swindon Company's board includes current council leader Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawn), his predecessor Kevin Small (Lab, Western) and representatives of local businesses and the University of Bath in Swindon.

New Swindon Company business division director Rosemary Wells said: "We have a view that people prefer to cross the road at the same level as the road, as opposed to going underneath or climbing over something.

"The crossing just opens that part of the town up."

The New Swindon Company's initial strategy document talks of removing the underpass and roundabout at the site altogether and creating an attractive tree-lined boulevard.

Drivers on Princes Street who have been delayed during the building of the crossing, which began in late March, have been told that the congestion problems will last only about another week or 10 days.

The crossing, funded on a 50-50 basis by Swindon Council and local financial giant Zurich, lies at the Whale Bridge subway end of Princes Street, a short distance from Zurich itself.

The firm approached the council with the suggestion of a crossing after some employees said they felt unsafe in the underpass.

They discovered that the local authority also had concerns about the underpass, but more to do with its image than safety, which they claim is no more of an issue there than anywhere else in the town centre.

Adrian Dean, the council's group officer for traffic management and road safety, was at pains to point out that there were no concrete plans to remove underpasses across Swindon, but he did stress the authority's commitment to making the town as attractive and pleasant as possible.

He said: "All options are on the table at the moment."

Talking about the new crossing, he said: "We were always getting complaints from members of the public about the environment down there put simply, it can smell.

"Some members of the public also said they felt threatened there, although the police say there is no more risk there than elsewhere in the town centre.

"Complaints also came from local people and visitors who parked their cars at the Spring Gardens car park and then walked through the underpass to get into town. Zurich also drew this to our attention."

The Whale Bridge subway has branches leading to several roads in the busy area, but the branch crossing beneath Princes Street is one of the busiest.

Pedestrians can regularly be seen crossing and dodging heavy traffic rather than use the underpass.

Zurich spokeswoman Jane Hewin said: "We are a responsible employer, and we care about the safety and wellbeing of our staff.

"So when concerns were raised by them about using the underpass we got in touch with the council to see what could be done about the situation."

Nobody from Swindon police was available for comment.