Major road closure extended as schools return

The A38 flyover in north Bristol has been closed throughout August

Roadworks causing significant delays on a major north Bristol route are set to be extended by a week.

The A38 flyover in Filton was shut on 4 August by South Gloucestershire Council for extensive refurbishment.

Work was scheduled to be completed by 31 August, before thousands of school and college pupils returned to a new term.

But it has now been revealed that the closure will remain in place until 8 September.

In a Facebook statement, the council said that it was extending the works despite its "best efforts".

The initial closure of the flyover caused "gridlock" in the surrounding area of north Bristol, with traffic jams exacerbated by an erroneous road closure and a crash on the nearby M5.

Councillor Sean Rhodes told the BBC the delays were due to reasons outside the council's control

Councillor Sean Rhodes apologised to those living and commuting in the area.

He told the BBC: "We never go into this kind of work with the intention of creating delays for drivers... That's why we tried to get that work done over the summer.

"Unfortunately, it's things outside of our control that have had an impact."

He explained that one of the major reasons for the delay was a supplier's failure to meet a deadline set by the council.

He said that, where possible, the work was being carried out overnight.

'Keep away'

With many schools and colleges returning and the prospect of a bus strike from 4 to 8 September, Mr Rhodes said: "If you are somebody who uses public transport, please check to see what's happening with regards to, the potential Bristol bus strikes... to see how that's going to overlap.

"If at all possible, make some changes to your journeys that hopefully can keep you away from that area.

"Particularly if you're dropping people off into college, if you're able to, drop them a little bit further off so they can walk the final stretch in."

In a bid to prevent worsening the delays, South Gloucestershire Council said it has asked the National Grid to delay work on Bristol's Hatchet Road until the A38 reopens.