Work to make junction 'safer' is completed

The project to remodel a collision hot spot has been delivered on time

A council project to remodel a busy junction with a history of 37 known crashes has been completed on time and within budget.

Somerset Council and their contractor Octavius celebrated the opening of the new Miner’s Arms junction near Priddy as an important investment in road safety.

Work started in April on the B3135/B3134 intersection, a notorious collision spot which has seen 11 serious collisions over 20 years, and finished this month.

Councillor Richard Wilkins said he was "delighted" the scheme had been delivered.

"The statistics speak for themselves, something had to be done," he said.

"We made sure the evidence pointed to a new design that would make the junction safer and identified funding within our budget to make it a reality.

"Local residents and councillors were keen for something to be done and I’m sure everyone will be pleased with the result."

Previously drivers regularly failed to stop at the junction, despite clear signage

The scheme saw the contractor realign the entire junction – essentially building a new stretch of road - to stagger the crossroads and help ensure collisions are radically reduced in the future.

Previously drivers regularly failed to stop at the junction, despite clear signage.

The work included signing, lining, extensive drainage work and a new 40mph speed limit, as well as associated landscaping sympathetic to the Mendip Hills National Landscape setting, reusing stone recovered from the site to build hundreds of feet of dry-stone wall.