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Motorway junction to close until September

Dan Ayers
BBC News, Somerset
Somerset Council Aerial view of the M5 motorway. There's a roundabout underneath the bridge and has trees in the roundabout.Somerset Council
Junction 26 of the M5 at Wellington will close until at least September

Motorists are being urged to "plan ahead" as a motorway junction will close for at least 14 weeks for a £5.7m upgrade project.

Somerset Council's contractor Heidelberg Materials is refurbishing junction 26 of the M5 and the A38 Chelston link road near Wellington with a complete closure from Sunday evening until late-September.

Locals and businesses in the Wellington area said the closure will cause "chaos" on the surrounding road network.

Somerset Council said it understood people had "real concerns" but added "this was the only available window" to complete the works.

The official diversion will take road s off at either junction 25 (Taunton) or junction 27 (Tiverton) and along the A38.

Sian Hughes, who lives in Taunton, said the closure is going to be "horrendous".

"All of the traffic will have to come off at junction 25 or junction 27 especially at Taunton so it will cause chaos on the A38," she told BBC Radio Somerset.

"I'm just going to have to leave earlier and hopefully I won't have to travel too far."

She added: "My husband Rob is a driving instructor so it will really affect his lesson times."

The Falcon bus service from Exeter to Bristol Airport will not stop at junction 26 for Wellington during the closure.

A women in a blue T-shirt is stood next to a car and van parked on her driveway. She's smiling at the camera and has her arm resting on the car's bonnet.
Sian Hughes, who lives in Wellington, said the closure will cause "chaos"

Julie Bishop, who lives in Wellington, said the closure will "affect everyone who needs to get in or out of Wellington and West Buckland".

"The failure to coordinate with ongoing roadworks in Taunton is just inexcusable," she added.

Old tarmac road. There's a duel-carriageway with trees on the side. There's a road sign on the side of the road.
The A38 link road at the Chelston roundabout has tarmac more than 50 years old

Councillor Richard Wilkins lead member for transport, said: "When completed we will have a new, smoother, quieter road surface with better drainage so please bear with us and plan your journey carefully while work is underway."

National Highways route manager for the M5 in Somerset, Jonathan Hill, urged motorists "to plan ahead accordingly".

He said: "From a National Highways point of view we were looking at capacity at junction 25 (Taunton) and junction 27 (Tiverton) that it wasn't backing onto the M5 and will monitor it."

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