Somerset Council’s highways team is carrying out essential drainage works on a flood-prone road connecting villages on the outskirts of Taunton from next week (3 April).

Halse Road at Ash Priors, close to Bishops Lydeard, regularly suffers from surface water flooding which runs off from a nearby common. The water freezes in cold weather and this caused a significant problem for road users and residents this winter with excessive wet weather followed by freezing temperatures.

The works will help ensure the road is safe all year round, but it will be necessary to fully close this 250m section for a about a month – from 3 April to 5 May. The team will do its utmost to minimise the impact on local residents and access to properties in the immediate area will be maintained throughout.

Somerset County Council’s Lead Member for Transport and Digital, Cllr Mike Rigby said:

“We really pleased to be delivering these essential works which will make the road much safer.
“The current situation means the road can be very dangerous in wet and freezing conditions and this winter. This is not part of our precautionary gritting route – it’s not possible for us to grit every road, and we had numerous requests for action from residents.
“Of course this is going to cause some short-term inconvenience, but there is massive long-term gain for road users and residents.”

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If you spot a problem on the road you can report it quickly and easily by visiting http://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/report-a-problem-on-the-road/
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