Somerset County Council defends Upcott Hill road closure

Upcott Road, Bishops Hull, was closed on February 21 for electricity cables to be installed.

The road is set to be closed until March 21.

A diversion route is in place in the area, telling drivers to go through Upcott Road, to continue onto Shutewater Hill, back into Bishops Hull.

But drivers yesterday discovered Somerset County Council is diverting drivers into another road closure as further works began.

Further down Upcott Road, works are taking place from March 4 until March 8 to patch up pot holes.

Some drivers said no notice was given of the extra works and claimed the road was blocked on Tuesday morning (March 5). 

But Somerset County Council says there is sense in its decisions, and says the diversion road is not closed, despite the Travel Somerset website and drivers saying otherwise.

A spokesman for SCC said: “A section of Upcott Road is currently closed until March 21 while works to upgrade the national grid network take place.

"We encourage collaborative working and while the road is closed our highways contractor will be carrying out pothole patching repairs, both within the closure and for short times outside of the road closure on the advertised diversion route.

"We understand this may appear illogical, but it does make sense because traffic flows along Upcott Road are reduced while the closure is in place.

"The diversion route will not be closed – patching works are mobile and access will be maintained.

"This approach minimises the overall disruption by negating the need for further roadworks when the road reopens.”

The council added it will update its website to make the diverion and closures clearer.