Motorists travelling between Burnham-On-Sea and Berrow faced long tailbacks on Friday (May 26th) following a water leak.
Bristol Water partially closed Berrow Road for the emergency works, causing a big build-up of holiday traffic at the start of the Bank Holiday weekend.
A Somerset County Council spokesman told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The roadworks on Berrow Road were emergency works by Bristol Water to fix a water leak. We fully appreciated the impact of this and asked Bristol Water to remove the traffic lights as soon as they are able to.”
By Friday mid-afternoon, Bristol Water had fixed the problem and the road was re-opened, allowing traffic to flow freely again.
One local resident, Paul Houghton, got in touch with Burnham-On-Sea.com, saying: “My heart sank when I saw that the temporary road works near Applegreen’s Garage on the Berrow Road had been abandoned, just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend. Long tail-backs were already building up by lunchtime.”
“However, I was most impressed how Bristol Water responded to my phone call telling them about the problem. They had the road repaired and the lights removed by mid-afternoon.”
“Anyone who lives in Berrow or Brean will know the frustration of trying to get home – or into Burnham – during the holiday season; particularly during good weather and Bank Holiday weekends.”
“Isn’t it time for Somerset Highways – who I believe co-ordinate and licence the works – to plan a little more sensibly? Why not make it a condition that roadworks must be cleared before holiday weekends? There is no easy alternative road unless you take a diversion of some miles. Better still, how about a nice bypass!”
