Taunton retailers will “suffer very badly” over the Christmas period if upcoming town centre roadworks lead to jams, a local councillor has warned.
Somerset Council will begin work on November 11 to upgrade two crucial junctions on the A38 Hurdle Way, which handles significant volumes of traffic moving through the centre of Taunton.
The scheme – which will run until early-April 2025, with a two-week break over the Christmas period – will see improved traffic signals and a new cycle lane installed, resulting in faster, smoother journeys for pedestrians, cyclists, car drivers and bus passengers.
But Councillor John Hunt has warned that every effort must be made to prevent congestion in the run-up to Christmas and over the rest of the winter to minimise the impact on local small businesses.
Mr Hunt, whose Bishop’s Hull and Taunton West division includes the junction, gave his thoughts at a public drop-in event held at Taunton Library on Wednesday afternoon (October 30).
He said: “I think it will make a difference when it’s finished. The traffic lights which are there now are expiring – you can’t get parts for them, so clearly we need to replace them.
“My worry is Christmas is coming up, of course – does that mean we’re going to have traffic snarl-ups all the way up until Christmas?
“I’m told that won’t happen – the initial works will be starting on Mansfield Road. But after Christmas, it then starts getting very busy, and we’re going to get road congestion, there’s no question about that.
“It’s going to affect local residents and traders – but the officers are telling me they’re going to do everything they can to keep things moving.”
During the first phase of work, from November 11 to December 20, the roadworks will be concentrated on the B3170 Mansfield Road, where a new cycle lane will be installed.
This forms part of the aspirational ‘green route’ identified within the Taunton local cycling and walking infrastructure plan (LCWIP), which will eventually run all the way from Norton Fitzwarren to the Nexus 25 employment site just off the M5.
During this time both Mansfield Road and Hurdle Way will be reduced down to a single lane to allow the contractor to work safely – though access to the Sainsbury’s petrol station will be maintained.
Work will temporarily cease on Friday, December 20 and recommence on January 6, 2025, giving motorists a two-week reprieve over the Christmas and New Year period.
Then from January 6, the new traffic signals will be installed under temporary traffic lights in both directions.
The new lights will give more priority to buses, allowing for faster, smoother journeys to and from the town centre and thereby encouraging more people to use public transport rather than driving into the town.
Cyclists will also benefit from the changes, with new ‘bike boxes’ (a larger red area nearer the lights) allowing riders to stop safely and wait for their signal.
New, improved pedestrian crossings will be put in place and both junctions will be comprehensively resurfaced before the road completely reopens on April 2, 2025.
Mr Hunt said: “The new lights have good systems whereby buses, as they approach the new lights, will active a GPS system which turns the lights green and they can carry on through.
“This will speed up journeys and save putting in a lot of bus lanes, which aren’t very popular.
“It’ll be nice when it’s finished, and I hope it will be noticeably better. It’s just such a shame it has to take place now.”
The Hurdle Way improvements form part of the council’s wider ambitions for the eastern approach into Taunton, which would see bus lanes installed in both directions along the A3027 East Street and the A38 East Reach between Wordsworth Drive and the Market House.
While the council has not confirmed the specific cost of the Hurdle Way scheme, a total of £1,852,550 has been set aside all improvements on the eastern side of Taunton within the council’s bus services improvement plan (BSIP) – with all the funding for these roadworks coming direct from the Department for Transport (DfT).
Mr Hunt said he would have preferred work to begin in early-January, but added that some traders who attended the drop-in event had received assurances that disruption would be kept to a minimum.
He said: “I think they should have waited until after Christmas, but that’s not going to happen.
“A lot of retailers here will suffer very badly if there are jams caused by this. The contractors tell me there won’t be, but honestly I’ve got to see that to believe it.
“I don’t mean to be negative, I know the guys are working very hard.
“I’ve spoken to several people from Sainsbury’s here today and they are very concerned – but they have left here with their minds clear and they are quite happy with what they’ve heard.
“The entrance and exit to and from Sainsbury’s will be kept clear – but travelling east to west and vice versa is going to be a nightmare.
“My big concern is the residents who live on Mount Street, Mountway and that kind of area. I’m worried that it will be a nightmare to get in and out of their own homes when it gets started.”
Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services, said that all road users would benefit from the changes once the scheme had been completed next year.
He said: “The traffic signals are coming to the end of their life, and it’s important that we go through a programme of changing them and upgrading them to make them much better.
“We’re taking this opportunity to do a lot of work; we’re resurfacing the road at this junction, and we’re also putting in better cycling and pedestrian provisions into the scheme.
“The signals will work much better alongside the other signals in Taunton.”
For more information on these and other roadworks in your area, visit www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/roadworks-and-travel.
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