YEOVIL NEWS: Council pleased with progress on roundabout roadworks

WORK to upgrade the Horsey Lane roundabout in Yeovil is progressing well with plans in place to lift some of the road closures at weekends in the run up to Christmas, says Somerset County Council.

The news comes as Somerset County Council starts resurfacing on the roundabout on Monday (November 2, 2015). This will take place at night, from 8pm to 6am, to minimise disruption, with traffic directed around the area of road being worked on.

The Christmas Lights are due to be switched on in Yeovil town centre on Saturday, November 14, 2015, and the county council has pledged to lift the road closures on Hendford Hill and Hendford temporarily to make it easier for shoppers to access the town’s car parks. Brunswick Street will be open for access to Hendford only.

This arrangement will remain in place for subsequent weekends to help support local businesses.

Cllr David Fothergill, Somerset County Council’s spokesman for highways, said: “This work is the first step of a £14-million programme to improve roads across Yeovil, but we fully appreciate it has caused some disruption to motorists and to local businesses.

“The good news is we’re on schedule and I’m very pleased to confirm that we’ll be lifting some of the road closures to ensure minimal disruption to the town during the important run up to Christmas.

“We’re investing in Yeovil for the long term, but we also want to support the town in the short term. Please bear with us and thank you for your patience so far.”

The Horsey Lane roundabout upgrade is the first step of two major schemes to improve transport links along the eastern and western corridors of the town.

As well as increasing the capacity of major junctions and improving traffic flow, the two schemes are essential to support Yeovil’s economic growth and are necessary to allow major developments to go ahead, including:

• More than 2,000 new homes at sites in Brimsmore, Lufton and Lyde Road.
• More than 20 hectares of employment land at Lufton and BunfordPark.
• Redevelopment of the town centre including the cattle market.

The improvements should reduce projected future peak journey times by 23% (West Coker Road to Thorne Lane) and 16% (Horsey Roundabout to Lyde Road) – compared to what they would be with the developments in place but without the improvements.

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