This post summarises the latest information that the town council has been given about the various roadworks that are taking place, and that have been disrupting residents’ and business lives. As we all know, the plans have been subject to numerous changes. We can’t guarantee that what we post here is what will happen, but we do undertake that what is posted here is an accurate record of what we have been told.
Our town clerk Lisa has been meeting with Somerset Highways every Tuesday for an update. We hope to do a fresh post after each of these meetings.
Quick summary (see below for further details)
- Coombe Street: OPEN all day Saturday 19th Aug, CLOSED all day Sun-Mon 20th-21st. OPEN thereafter
- High Street: OPEN all day now until Mon 21st Aug. Then CLOSED 9.30am-5.00pm Tue 22nd Aug-Friday 1st Sept. Then CLOSED all day/all night Sat 2nd-Mon 4th Sept
- Quaperlake Street (from Library) – Patwell Street – Church Bridge – Station Road (as far as railway bridge): CLOSED 6pm*- 11.30pm Wed 23rd-Sat 26th Aug.
- Higher Backway: ROLLING CLOSURE, estimated completion ‘in three weeks’.
- Frome Road: WORKS POSTPONED no new date.
Library Junction
Saturday 19 August 2023: Coombe Street and the High Street will both be open for this day only.
Sunday 20 August 2023 and Monday 21 August: Coombe Street closed and High Street open, (with temporary protective bollards outside the Library).
Tuesday 22 August 2023 until 1 September: Coombe Street open. High Street closed from 9.30 am until 5.00 pm each day (open at other times). We understand that ‘each day’ may include the weekends. During the closure, arrangements will be made for access with a Highways marshall in place and two-way traffic.
The Highways works at Library Junction are scheduled to end on 1 September 2023.
Kerbstones
The old cast-iron kerbs on the west side of Coombe Street from Blue Ball yard down to the junction will remain in place.
The town council has arranged for safe storage of the kerbs that have been removed and intends to consult about what should happen to them.
The new and broken kerbstones outside the Library will be replaced.
Other things at the junction
Contrary to some rumours circulating, we have been told that there are no plans to install plastic bollards anywhere around the junction.
Resurfacing works
Brewham Road
Has been completed.
Frome Road
Has been postponed. We do not know when this work will be done.
Quaperlake Street/Patwell Street/Church Bridge/Station Road (as far as the railway bridge)
This re-surfacing work is currently scheduled for 23 to 26 August. Quaperlake Street refers only to the short section outside the Library.
These works will take place in the evenings only, from 6.00 pm to 11.30 pm.
Wales and West Utilities gas main upgrade
Higher Backway and St Catherines Hill
The works in St Catherines Hill, the lower section of Higher Backway and the cut-through lane by the telephone exchange are complete.
The upper section of Higher Backway is closed between the telephone exchange and the school car park. This closure took place earlier than residents were advised.
The eastern end of Higher Backway will follow. The exact dates are not yet known and will depend on how the team progresses with the existing works. We have been told that the works are currently expected to take up to a further three weeks.
High Street closure
The new gas main up St Catherines Hill will need to be connected to the main in the High Street. This work is currently scheduled to take place from Saturday 2 September 2023 to Monday 4 September 2023 and will require closure of the High Street. Kings School have been informed, as this is their term start date. These dates are after the Library Junction works are scheduled to finish. The town council will explore whether they can be brought forward so that both High Street closures overlap, but at time of writing we don’t know whether this is possible.
