Town councillors have this week hit out at the County Council’s seven-month closure of a busy Burnham-On-Sea road junction, saying it raises “serious safety concerns.”
At Monday’s town council meeting, Cllr John Morgan said the closure of Burnham Road at its junction with the A38 and Church Street (pictured) during the development of a new roundabout for the new Asda store had been poorly planned.
Cllr Morgan said any serious accident on the M5 motorway could quickly gridlock Highbridge if traffic tries to take the alternative route along the A38 through the town. “There is the potential for ‘disaster’ here,” he said.
Councillors also raised several other concerns. They fear the roadworks will tempt drivers to use Pople’s Bow as a ‘rat run’ to reach parts of Burnham and have questioned the County Council on whether a speed limit is in force along this stretch of road. Cllr Morgan also fears “vehicles along Pople’s Bow may well get scratched and bumped because of the limited road width and extra traffic.”
Town Mayor Eric Gill said it is “another example of the county council taking little notice of local concerns.”
With building work expected to start shortly on more than 200 new homes in the Worston Road area, councillors also questioned whether extra heavy vehicles would be using Pople’s Bow. Cllr Morgan questioned whether a weight restriction exists on the bridge, adding: “You just can’t get artic lorries along Pople’s Bow.”
Cllr Arthur Thorogood also questioned whether funeral courteges are now able to stop outside St John’s Church during the works, given that traffic is now being directed along the spur road past the church.
And Cllr Dennis Davey drew attention to the 10 days of roadworks due to start along the B3140 Berrow Road from January 17th, saying: “There’s no escape from these works when getting out of Burnham – the co-ordination is really terrific.”
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Busy Burnham road junction to close for seven months
