Somerset: Surface dressing programme helps protect county’s roads
Somerset Council’s Highways team and contractor Kiely Bros are preparing to surface dress some roads as part of the spring/summer maintenance programme. Surface dressing is a nationally recognised maintenance technique for sealing a road, improving skid resistance, and preventing water getting under the surface. This is crucial to help stop potholes forming. It works by […]
Councillor urges council to accelerate A39 roadworks
Somerset Council has been urged by one of its own councillors to speed up “embarrassing” roadworks on the A39 in west Somerset ahead of the Easter holidays. The council and its contractor Centregreat began work in early-January to upgrade the traffic signals at the Dunster Steep junction, where the A39 between Minehead and Williton meet the A396 between Dunster […]
Councillors approve major transport delivery blueprint for Somerset
A four‑year transport plan setting out investment in buses, active travel, road maintenance and accessibility has been approved by Somerset Council’s Executive. The Council must submit its spending plans to the Government for the first of the 4 years by 20 March setting out where money will be spent in 2026 to 2027, including road […]
Castle Cary sinkhole to be repaired after more than four years
Work to repair a sinkhole which has been causing issues on a busy road in Somerset for more than four years is set to start next week. Issues began on Station Road in Castle Cary in 2021, and residents said the sinkhole had since become a “running joke” among the community, says the BBC. Castle Cary […]
Major incident declared in Somerset in response to heavy rain and flooding
A major incident has been called in Somerset as agencies step up their response to Storm Chandra. Somerset Council, the Environment Agency and emergency services are working together to support communities following heavy rain and extensive flooding overnight. Although the weather looks drier tomorrow, the risk of flooding on the Levels and Moors remains high […]
Work on £3.7m Taunton transport hub to begin after Christmas
Somerset Council has confirmed that work on Taunton’s new £3.7m transport hub will finally begin after Christmas. The council has received significant funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) to replace the redundant Tower Street facility (which closed in March 2020) with a new transport hub for buses and coaches, as part of its multi-year bus service improvement plan […]
Another link completed in Somerset Circle active travel route
A new section of the Somerset Circle walking and cycling route has been opened, creating a scenic new multi-user path in the Mendip area. The 1.3-kilometre section links Hamwood Viaduct to Thrupe Lane, providing a traffic-free route for people to enjoy. And a cycling route will be signposted taking riders along minor roads from Thrupe […]
M5 flooding: £6m motorway roadworks set to begin
The Somerset section of the M5 is facing four months of roadworks in a near-£6m project to improve drainage and combat the motorway’s consistent flooding issues. For the majority of the works, three narrow lanes of the motorway will stay open in each direction near junction 26 for Wellington, says the BBC. Some overnight closures […]
National Highways improving M5 safety with Somerset drainage scheme
National Highways will be starting a scheme later this month to tackle flooding issues and improve safety for motorists on the M5 in Somerset. A £5.9 million programme of work has been designed to improve drainage and alleviate flooding on the verges and carriageway near junction 26 for Wellington, reducing the likelihood of future wet […]
Somerset: M5 junction and link road refurbishment part of major initiative to decarbonise roads
An innovative Somerset Council scheme to replace a deteriorating 51-year-old concrete road and motorway junction broke new ground and saved 200 tonnes of carbon emissions in the process. The refurbishment of Junction 26 of the M5 along with the A38 Chelston link road near Wellington finished on budget ahead of schedule this month. Both were […]