Taunton distributor road work will cause 'some disruption'

The next phase of a £22m project to ease congestion in Taunton town centre is due to start.

Drivers can expect up to two weeks of disruption while work on the Northern Inner Distributor Road (NIDR) occurs.

The work, starting on Wednesday, will see the closure of the northbound carriageway of Staplegrove Road beyond Richmond Road for drainage work.

The one-mile (1.6 km) NIDR will see Staplegrove Road, in the west, linked to Priory Avenue in the east.

The project, which will also see a bridge built over the River Tone and the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal close to Priory Fields Business Park, is expected to be completed by the autumn.

Somerset County Council said the road would also help with the regeneration of the Firepool area.

Councillor Harvey Siggs, cabinet member for highways, said: "There will be some disruption, we are still asking everyone to be patient about it, to understand it's the end goal that's really worth having.

"Where we can we are running single lane traffic, but at times we will need to close roads completely."