A ‘huge pothole’ on a Taunton road has been fixed after motorists suffered blown tyres and damage to their cars.
Several road users hit out at the state of a road on the A38 after their cars had tyres punctured by a pothole.
Many pointed out the issues started around Christmas and yesterday, Wednesday, December 29, several motorists complained about the damage the pothole caused to their tyres near the Orchard Grove development.
Somerset County Council Highways said the location is within a construction site of a new roundabout, which is part of a private-led project.
Yesterday, a spokesperson for Somerset County Council Highway said the council had contacted the developer and contractors were going to repair the road defect.
A statement said: “This location is within the construction site of the new roundabout which is a private developer-led project. “The county council has now contacted the developer and today [Wednesday, December 29] contractors will be working to repair the road defect.”
An update from the project team for Orchard Grove said: “The first report about this issue was received today [Wednesday, December 29] and it has already been fixed.
“The pothole was on the surface of an existing stretch of A38 carriageway and looks to have been caused by poor weather.
“Work is taking place in the vicinity to create a new junction to Orchard Grove, which means the area will soon be resurfaced and improve the carriageway.”
On Wednesday, December 29, Wayne Sprangle was driving into Taunton near the Orchard Grove development on the A38, at the new Rumwell roundabout, when a pothole blew a tyre of his car.
Other drivers shared Mr Sprangle’s concerns saying the road defects started on Christmas Day.
Mr Sprangle said he saw “at least 10 cars” with a blown tyre and said that the stretch of A38 is “a mess”.
He also said the road had been in that state for “a number of days”, while other road users claimed the bad conditions started on Christmas Day.
Mr Sprangle previously said: “I was driving back from the gym and unfortunately I didn’t have time to avoid it.
“When you are in a line of traffic and the car in front of you makes a swift change in direction you don’t have much time.
“I have seen at least 10 cars with blown tyres and when I went to the garage they said they had received 15 calls about popped tyres.
“It’s quite a narrow street and when there’s someone in front of you and everyone swerves, you follow suit, so I just hit it.”
Mr Sprangle had also said he had seen cars stopping in a lay-by with flat tyres.
He added: “If you do this work you have to be on top of it. I have seen at least 10 cars this morning. It’s madness.
“You can’t expect people, road users, to pay for this. I want someone to pay for it.”
Another motorist, Hugh Duder, said he was driving back to Taunton from Brixham when he got a puncture at 9pm on Christmas Day.
He was out there again in the morning of Wednesday, December 29, and saw three cars parked up with punctures and 2 RAC vans, he also added.
Highways and travel information are regularly updated on @TravelSomerset.
Motorists can report road defects by visiting www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/report-a-pothole-or-road-defect/
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