There’s a lot of work being down to Bridgwater’s roads, oddly all at the same time. When you add to this the increasing frequency of Motorway closures diverting traffic from one Bridgwater junction to the next and not just through the town but into all the existing roadwork chaos, you wonder  what’s going on and particularly if anyone is responsible for this lack of  foresight. Turns out that it’s Somerset Council. This week there is a chance for the public to find out what exactly is going on from the people who have made these decisions. On Wednesday 20th November from 1230 to 1830 the Town Hall will be used as a drop in for the public to meet the decision makers from the County Unitary plus the contractors and to get some answers. Maybe….

County Council’s ‘man in the headlights’ is Councillor Richard Wilkins (Curry Rivel & Langport, Lib Dem), the  Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Transport and Waste services. Cllr Wilkins said  “All these works are about improvements and investment but we know it is going to be a very busy period on the Bridgwater network and ask for people’s patience in advance. We have done our best to avoid overlaps and clashes and our team will be working with contractors throughout ready to tweak traffic management if things can be improved.The drop-in on 20 November the best opportunity to find out more and get questions answered, so please come along if you can.”

Town says ‘Get it right’

Cllr Mick Lerry (Labour, Victoria) spokesman for the Bridgwater Town Council Transport Forum said “Road infrastructure is important to Bridgwater to make sure that traffic and people can move easily through and within the Town. Bridgwater experiences extreme difficulty when junctions are closed on the M5. For the local economy to be able to function there is also need for good public transport and connectivity with Bus and Rail. In terms of increasing capacity and allowing people to move easily more investment in public transport is needed for transport to work, services, trade and leisure”

County Labour Keep ‘Watching Brief’

Cllr Leigh Redman, (Labour, Bridgwater North Central) leader of the Labour group on Somerset council said “I am pleased that local people will have a chance to attend this event to discuss and question the extensive highways work that is taking place in and around Bridgwater, I try to communicate as widely as possible works so that local people can plan journeys and I have been pressing highways team to try and join up works and programs between different contractors, this session will allow my community to ask about the works impacting them.”…

The Public Have their Say

Bridgwater Town Council Leader Cllr Brian Smedley (Labour, Westover) says “There is clearly a huge investment in the town’s infrastructure and we welcome that but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of thought put in to the when’s and where’s. I suspect it’s a case of ‘it’s got to be done, people will appreciate it one day, let’s get it over and done with and take the flack’. On Town Council we don’t like the fact that we don’t have a say. That’s why we set up our own Transport Forum. I have asked that the outcome of this consultation goes directly to that forum on 10th December along with the comments from our partners and members of the public”

Cllr Smedley also recently called a meeting of the Town Development Forum so that Councillors and delegates could put questions directly to Stuart Martin, director of the Celebration Mile project. A full report of that meeting is here.

Summary of RoadWorks in the Bridgwater area

Agratas high voltage power lines- Work to supply the site of the planned Agratas electric car battery facility – a £4 billion investment for Somerset – has been ongoing since September.

Significant roadworks have taken place around Bridgwater- Work along Bath Road from Crandon Bridge is due to be completed on 15 November. Two-way traffic flow will be reinstated from 15 November.

15 November to 19 December: one-way system in place on Puriton Hill. Traffic will be able to travel south from Junction 23 of the M5 – up Puriton Hill away from Bridgwater and towards Street/Glastonbury. There will be no access to Junction 23 from the north – from the Street/Glastonbury direction. A signed diversion route is in place via A39 into Bridgwater to the Cross Rifles junction and via A38 to Dunball where you can access J23. Road users may choose other routes.

19 December to 10 January: restrictions lifted for the festive period.

11 January to 9 February: the one-way system reintroduced on Puriton Hill.

Further work is needed later in the spring involving the same one-way system on Puriton Hill. Dates are yet to be confirmed.

Dunball roundabout upgrade- Work to improve the capacity at the roundabout. This will include signalisation and a new ‘throughabout’.

11 November to December 2025: work starts and will be carried out largely under temporary lights and lane closures.

6 to 10 January; 10 to 14 February, and 3 to 14 March: overnight closures (7.30pm to 5am) of the link road between Junction 23 and the Dunball roundabout.

These are timed so as not to coincide with the Puriton Hill one-way system.

Celebration Mile- A pedestrian and cycle-friendly route connecting Bridgwater Railway Station to Bridgwater Docks, while celebrating the town’s history and culture. It is part of a wide-ranging regeneration programme focused on the town.

Work continues on Eastover until next summer. This means ongoing closure of Eastover with a diversion in place.

There are also parking and access restrictions on Angel Crescent and a closure will be in place on Clare Street from early 2025 – dates to be confirmed.