Somerset Council's highways teams are working hard to complete planned maintenance works and improvements in Bruton, despite delays caused by some significant challenges.

A revised programme will now see Coombe Street closed as part of a small improvements scheme until Friday 18 August under a 24/7 closure. The scheme will then move to High Street on Sunday 20 August, and the road will remain shut between the hours of 9:30am and 5pm until Friday 1 September.

A planned resurfacing scheme on Patwell Street will be undertaken between 6pm and 11:30pm excluding weekends, running from Thursday 24 August to Wednesday 30 August.

On the first day of work this summer, asbestos was discovered underneath a traffic island on High Street, and later that week a sinkhole formed in a separate part of High Street, so works were suspended so Coombe Street could be reopened to ease pressure on the network while High Street was under closure. During this time, the asbestos was removed and disposed of successfully.

Subsequently, some utilities have been found to be shallower in the road surface than expected, and these have had to be worked around carefully. The team have also discovered a historic drainage system under the road, and efforts to keep working around this old infrastructure, alongside conserving this in partnership with South West Heritage have complicated work further.

Councillor Mike Rigby, Somerset Council's Executive Lead Member for Transport and Digital said: "Firstly, thank you to everyone in and around Bruton for their patience and co-operation. We appreciate this has been challenging for all concerned.

"These works have not been easy to deliver for a variety of reasons, but the team is working as swiftly and as safely as they can to get everything done, and to bring disruption to traffic in Bruton to an end."

If you have any specific questions on the small improvements scheme in Bruton, you can contact [email protected] by email.

Access for residents and businesses in the immediate area will be maintained throughout and a diversion will be in place, with full details available on www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/roadworks-and-travel/. 

Follow @TravelSomerset on Twitter and Facebook for live travel updates, roadworks and other highways news. 

If you spot a problem on the road you can report it quickly and easily here: www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/report-a-problem-on-the-road/.