SOMERSET Council has responded to concerns about heavy traffic disruption on the A39 Bath Road and Bower Lane as a result of infrastructure work related to the Agratas gigafactory.

A Traffic Regulation Order is in place for the A39 Bath Road until 23:59pm, November 15, to allow essential works to facilitate the installation of a high voltage electricity cable supply to accommodate the new gigafactory.

A spokesperson for Somerset Council said: “There’s a huge amount of investment going into the Bridgwater the area and unfortunately that does end up causing infrastructure work and traffic disruption. The council works with the contractors to try and manage the network and minimise the impact, making changes where we can to improve things.”

“This week, the one-way system has been lifted on part of Bath Road - from the junction with Bradney Lane towards Crandon Bridge – this means residents leaving Bradney Lane don’t have to follow the whole one-way route. We’re working on further tweaks next week to try and reduce the length of closures as soon as we can. We are grateful for the patience of road users and residents while we work with Agratas on this huge investment in Somerset’s future.”

An Agratas spokesperson also responded to concerns about traffic disruption, saying: “We’re working with Somerset Council to connect our site to Bridgwater’s power station. We recognise this will cause some disruption to roads and traffic in Bridgwater and are doing everything we can to keep this to a minimum.”

“The works will enable us to drive forward with the next phase of development, bringing us one step closer to completing our £4bn facility which will bring thousands of jobs and training opportunities to the area.”