Road-widening project to be completed in June
WORK on a £1.6million congestion busting road widening scheme in Portishead is due to be completed next month.
The scheme to widen a section of Wyndham Way started in December and is expected to be completed by early June.
The work has involved widening a 500m stretch of the A369 between the Sheepway and the ‘sail’ roundabout to create a second lane for traffic heading into the town.
The aim of the scheme is to increase capacity and stop queues backing up onto the Portbury Hundred and M5 during the evening rush hour.
The project had been due to be completed by the end of March.
But delays due to inclement weather and the coronavirus pandemic pushed the completion date back by two months.
North Somerset Council executive member for highways Councillor James Tonkin said contractors were waiting for electrical kit to complete the work.
Mr Tonkin said: “The scheme is due to be completed by the end of the month or early June.
“The project will make a real difference to the people of Portishead and help reduce issues with congestion at peak times.”
The work to Wyndham Way is part of a wider scheme which will also see improvements to the M5 Portishead motorway junction carried out by Highways England.
The work to junction 19 will see the splitter island at the entrance to Gordano Services removed, allowing traffic to use that lane to travel onto the A369.
This will allow the motorway roundabout to be remarked providing two full lanes to be used by Portishead bound traffic.
The work is aimed at tackling the large queues that form on the inside lane of the southbound carriageway on the Avonmouth Bridge.
At peak times queues can often stretch the length of the bridge and as far back as the Avonmouth junction.
As a result some motorists are trying to cut in from other lanes, causing accidents.
Construction work, which will include new stations in Portishead and Pill, is expected to start in December 2021 and take around two years to complete.