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Plans to improve A38 at major motorway roundabout

Dan Ayers
BBC News, Somerset
BBC A road and sign with several cars on it driving past. There's a caravan park to the right. The main shot is of the roundabout entrance sign. It says Edithmead Roundabout with a left turn to Burnham-on-Sea, straight on to Bristol Airport and right to the M5 towards Bristol.BBC
Traffic lights and a through-about could be installed at the J22 roundabout of the M5 near Burnham-on-Sea

A council is asking for people's views on upgrading a major motorway junction to help improve traffic flow and safety.

The A38 at the Edithmead Roundabout, near Burnham-on-Sea, which joins the M5 at J22 in Somerset is often very busy at peak times.

Somerset Council said proposals included the creation of a through-about with traffic lights on all arms of the roundabout, as well as more schemes up the A38.

It hoped in partnership with North Somerset Council, funds could be granted to improve the A38 from Burnham-on-Sea to the South Bristol Link Road to help ease congestion towards Bristol Airport.

A roundabout with several lanes. There's a green sign pointing north saying A38 to Cheddar and Bristol Airport. There's a brown sign saying Cheddar Gorge and Wookey Hole. There's a view cars in shot entering the roundabout.
The roundabout links the M5 corridor to the A38 up towards Bristol Airport

Kelly Tudor works at the Fox and Goose Hotel, which is just off the A38 at Brent Knoll, and said she thought it was a good idea and could make the road "safer".

She told BBC Radio Somerset: "It can be a really dangerous section of road, especially during any half terms and you can't get off the motorway.

"The slip road from the M5 can be difficult as it's so short but the traffic lights could control the traffic more and make it safer.

"Sometimes a three-minute journey can take more than 15 minutes."

Women stood looking at the camera. She's outside a bricked building. She is wearing an apron saying "the Fox & Goose".
Kelly Tudor regularly commutes on the A38 at East Brent and said it could be "chaos" at peak times

Plans also include the creation of a staggered junction design at Cross near Axbridge on the A38.

It would see the the Cross Lane turn-off to Cheddar and Axbridge moved down the road and dedicated left and right-turn lanes created off the main road to improve safety.

Steve Gard, landlord of the New Inn at Cross, said he had seen "countless near misses" over his 20 years at the pub and something "needed to be done".

Big sign saying 40mph and Give Way. It's a road with four separate exits with cars moving through the junction. The Mendip Hills are in the background.
The A38 at Cross would be changed to improve traffic-flow and safety at the junction

Other proposals include more safety markings at Rooksbridge, an improved crossing of the A38 at Shute Shelve for the Strawberry Line and improvements to bus stops and pedestrian/cycling facilities along the stretch.

In North Somerset, there's plans to upgrade the A38 and A368 junction at Churchill and to look at better access to Bristol Airport at the two roundabouts.

'Very busy route'

Somerset Council's lead member for transport and waste, councillor Richard Wilkins, said: "Clearly this is a very busy route and road users along with local people would benefit hugely from these improvements.

"Funding will be tight if we're successful and we can't make wholesale changes to the proposals or designs, but people's input will play an important role in finalising the schemes."

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