People are being advised by B&NES Council (the Highways Authority) to plan their travel this week following the emergency closure of a busy road near Keynsham, due to a burst water main and planned resurfacing works on the A368.
A Bristol Water mains burst, which happened on June 16 forced a section of Charlton Road to close and this may increase pressure on the local area’s road network over the following week. A diversion route is in place and sign posted through Bristol using the A37 and A4. Bristol Water has worked over the weekend to re-open the road; however Bristol Water is expecting the affected section of Charlton Road to remain closed into this next week.
The emergency closure coincides with planned resurfacing works to the A368 at Chelwood, a national rail strike and an increase in traffic for Glastonbury Festival.
Bath & North East Somerset Council has put in place diversion routes for traffic and advanced notices positioned along the route to warn road users of the road closures. B&NES Council expects there to be higher than usual volumes of traffic along the A37 and A39 while these roadworks take place and advise planning any journeys ahead of time to avoid delays.
Traffic was already expected to be higher than usual over the next few days due to the national rail strike due to take place on the 21st, 23rd and 25th of June, and over 200,000 people are expected to attend this years’ Glastonbury Festival which is taking place 22nd–26th June.
A spokesperson from Bristol Water said: “The burst main on Charlton Road has been repaired and the team are now going to backfill the excavation. They will then have to break out the other damaged side of the carriageway to check for any damage to the integrity of the road, and refill and repair this. The team will continue working over the weekend on the reinstatements, with further assessments of the road on Monday morning to review the extent of the damage. The repairs have been complicated and with significant damage to the road surface, we are anticipating the road to be completely cleared and reopened next Friday.”
B&NES Council Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for Transport, said: “This emergency road closure may increase the pressure on the local traffic network as it will overlap with a planned two-week road closure of the A368 at Chelwood, which starts on Monday 20 June. Unfortunately, these works cannot be rearranged as there is no alternative timeframe in the immediate future and the method being used to resurface the roads requires warmer temperatures. A diversion route using the A39 will be in place throughout.”
B&NES Council is the Highways Authority, please view the B&NES Council website for more information.