WORK to upgrade one of Somerset’s busiest roundabouts at a cost of £5.3m is officially under way.

The Dunball roundabout links junction 23 of the M5 to Bridgwater town centre via the A38 Bristol Road, as well as handling traffic from the A39 to and from Glastonbury.

Somerset County Council and Sedgemoor District Council have jointly developed plans to turn the roundabout into a signalised “throughabout” to improve traffic flows, funded by central government grants.

Work on the first phase of the scheme has officially begun, with vegetation being cleared and lane closures being put in place ahead of the construction ramping up in the spring.

The throughabout involves building a new road through the centre of the roundabout, allowing traffic between the two busiest points to move straight across, freeing up space that could be filled by other drivers.

Bridgwater Mercury: Queuing traffic on the A38 Bristol Road towards the Dunball Roundabout.Queuing traffic on the A38 Bristol Road towards the Dunball Roundabout. (Image: Daniel Mumby)

The new road will run through the middle of the roundabout to directly connect the A38 with the motorway junction, allowing smoother journeys for commuters and unlocking several sites for new homes and commercial development.

Balfour Beatty construction staff were hard at work at the site on Wednesday morning (February 1), coning off the inner lane of the roundabout to allow trees and other vegetation to be stripped from the central island.

The council has promised that every tree removed from the site will be replanted in another, unspecified Somerset location, as part of its climate emergency strategy.

In addition to improving the road, the scheme will see improved pedestrian and cycling links to and from Bridgwater, building on the A38 active travel corridor between the Express Park and Saltlands Bridge which opened to the public in November 2022.

This new cycle route will eventually stretch all the way to the Gravity enterprise zone between Puriton and Woolavington as part of the Bridgwater local cycling and walking infrastructure plan (LCWIP).

Bridgwater Mercury: Work on the first phase of the scheme has officially begun.Work on the first phase of the scheme has officially begun. (Image: Daniel Mumby)

Speaking in mid-January, Councillor Mike Rigby, the council’s portfolio holder for transport and digital, said: “This is an important project at a very busy interchange where there can sometimes be significant delays for road users during peak times, and it is also very difficult to access for pedestrians and cyclists.

“It’s great to be working in partnership with Balfour Beatty to deliver another significant improvement on Somerset’s network.

“We’re really pleased to see the commencement of enabling works – of course, this may cause some slight delays at peak times, but our team will do their utmost to minimise this.”

Much of the funding for the scheme comes from the government’s levelling up fund, with the council receiving £10m for several projects within the ‘Bridgwater northern corridor (which includes Bristol Road and the Cross Rifles roundabout).

Around £400,000 of the £5.3m total cost will come from the Bridgwater town deal, with other contributions from National Highways (which manages the M5) and the Heart of the South West local enterprise partnership (LEP).

The vegetation clearance and enabling works will be completed by February 20, with the overall upgrade of the roundabout is expected to be completed in February 2024.

In addition to this disruption, motorists travelling through Bridgwater also have to currently contend with upgrades to the pedestrian crossing at the junction of the A38 Broadway, Eastover and the A372 St. John’s Street, as part of the delivery of the ‘celebration mile.

For more information on these and other major roadworks schemes in Somerset, visit www.travelsomerset.co.uk/roadworks.