Drivers face overnight diversions along motorway

Junction 26 of the M5 is getting a £5.9m investment to tackle flooding issues

A busy stretch of motorway is to close overnight for a series of major roadworks.

The M5 northbound will be shut between junction 27 at Tiverton and junction 25 at Taunton from 21:00 GMT until 06:00 GMT every night until Friday.

The southbound carriageway will be also be fully closed overnight on Saturday, Sunday and Monday as part of work to tackle flooding at junction 26.

New central reservation barriers are being installed further north on the M5, which will close northbound between junction 24 at Bridgwater and junction 22 at Weston-super-Mare from 21:00 GMT until 06:00 GMT on Sunday night into Monday morning.

Motorists have been urged to check before they travel

Jonathan Hill, from National Highways, said: "We're aware it's carnival time so we have updated the work schedule to avoid those dates to allow traffic to disperse."

Drivers face a combination of full carriageway closures in both directions, lane closures and 50mph speed restrictions in both directions until 20 December while the central reservation safety barriers are replaced.

The work starting this week at junction 26 will include replacing gullies, blocked pipework, desilting ditches and some survey work.

The project is part of a £5.9m investment by National Highways at junction 26 which should help tackle flooding issues which will continue until February.

A full list of closure times is available from National Highways and motorists have been urged to check before they travel.