Holidaymakers warned of disruption during Taunton road works

Road users and holidaymakers travelling through Taunton face disruption during the summer as part of an £11.6m road maintenance scheme.

Somerset County Council is upgrading traffic lights and pedestrian crossings across the county.

Councillor Mike Rigby said the new signals would be "more efficient, more eco-friendly, should improve traffic flow and provide much safer access".

Work will begin at two sites in the county town from 23 July.

Equipment will be replaced at the junction of the B3170 South Road and Calway Road, near Richard Huish College, and the pedestrian crossing will be upgraded on Chestnut Drive, near the junction with Upper Holway Road.

Temporary traffic lights will be in use throughout the work, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mr Rigby, portfolio holder for transport and digital, said the investment in infrastructure would ensure the local network was "fit for purpose for many years to come".

He said the existing signal equipment had reached the "end of its working life" and was at risk of failing and causing "disruption and extra cost to the public".

Construction of a new junction on the B3087 Trenchard Way has been postponed to prevent further disruption.

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