Motorists who use the M5 motorway between Burnham-On-Sea and Bridgwater have been warned to expect delays in the coming weeks as the next phase of a major project gets underway.
Skanska, on behalf of Highways England, is carrying out barrier replacement work on the M5 over the next 11 weeks.
It says the work involves constructing a new ‘Central Reservation Vehicle Restraint System’ that will involve the replacement of the current steel barrier with a new concrete one.
Skanska says that to ensure the safety of its workforce and road users during the work, it will be necessary to put a traffic management system in place. This is currently being installed until 2nd November, and will comprise of two narrow lanes and a 50mph temporary speed restriction. The narrow lanes and speed limit will be in place for 7 weeks.
“While the two-lane traffic management solution is in place, southbound journeys between junction 22 at Burnham-On-Sea and 23 for Bridgwater North on the M5 at peak times – most notably on Friday evenings – may be subject to delays,” says a spokesman.
“Motorists travelling southbound on Friday evenings may wish to consider if there are any alternative routes they can use if they wish to avoid the delay. The expected delay at other times of the day, and for northbound traffic, will be marginal.”
A number of night-time closures (between 8pm and 6am) will also be required for the installation and removal of the traffic management solution.
The dates and diversions are as below: M5 J23 northbound entry slip – 1 November 2016, 2 November 2016 and 20 December 2016. All traffic will be diverted to follow A38 northbound, re-joining at junction 22.
M5 J22-23 southbound (includes J22 southbound entry slip) – 21 December 2016, 3 January 2017 and 5 January 2017. All traffic will be diverted to follow the A38 southbound, re-joining the motorway at junction 23.
M5 J23-22 northbound (includes J23 northbound entry slip) – 22 December 2016, 4 January 2017 and 5 January 2017. All traffic will be diverted to follow A38 northbound, re-joining at junction 22.
“We apologise in advance for any inconvenience or disruption the work may cause and will of course make every effort to ensure that the impact on the local community is kept to the absolute minimum,” added the spokesman.
