Portishead to Bristol road will be closed

Highway chiefs are to close off a main route near Portishead – at the same time that works to the Avonmouth Bridge are causing long traffic jams for motorists trying to get out of the town.

Drivers already face tailbacks along the Portbury Hundreds each morning because of roadworks being carried out by the Highways Agency on Avonmouth Bridge.

Now North Somerset Council has announced plans to close off Naish Hill in Clapton-in-Gordano in October to carry out £70,000 of resurfacing and drainage work.

The busy road, which many people use as a route out of Portishead to Bristol and its surrounding villages, is due to close for five days from October 5.

It will be closed from between Caswell Hill to Clevedon Road.

The news has angered local residents who fear the town could grind to a halt if Naish Hill is closed at a time when there are already large queues on the Portbury Hundreds as a result of the M5 roadworks.

Businessman Steve Wakefield has written to North Somerset Council deputy leader and executive member for highways, Councillor Elfan Ap Rees, asking for the work to be postponed until after the project on the M5 is completed.

Mr Wakefield, 59, who runs Dolphin Lifts, said: "I have been stuck on the Portbury Hundreds some mornings for more than 45 minutes.

"My unit is in Easton-in-Gordano and I often use Naish Hill as an alternative route to avoid the queues. If these roadworks go ahead, I will either have to sit in the queues with everyone else or make a large detour to Clevedon to get to my unit.

"If the council block off Naish Hill and the M5 Gordano roundabout gets blocked, I dread to think what the consequences will be.

"It seems barmy that these roadworks are being carried out at the same time as the work to the Avonmouth Bridge.

"I have written to the council to ask them to consider postponing this road closure until after the work on the bridge is completed."

Portishead has grown massively in size over the past years as a result of housing developments at the marina and the former power station.

The current population is about 22,000 but this is expected to soar to nearer 30,000 when all the development is complete.

Residents often have to sit in long tailbacks on the Portbury Hundreds each morning to get out of the town, which is often described as the biggest car park in the UK.

North Somerset Council deputy leader and executive member for highways, Mr Ap Rees, said: "The work is programmed to go ahead as planned. We are aware of the work that is taking place on the Avonmouth Bridge but we have a lot of work scheduled across the district ourselves and we need to get on with it.

"Diversions will be in place and people will just have to be patient."

During the works at Naish Hill, access to Clapton in Gordano will be maintained for residents and a signed diversion will be in place.

The £7 million resurfacing work on the Avonmouth Bridge is expected to be finished by Christmas, subject to the weather.

Work started on the northbound carriageway at the beginning of September. It is part of £25m of road improvements on the Bristol motorway network.

The works are being carried out in a nationwide £700m investment by the Department for Transport.

Lane closures, narrowed lanes and a 50mph limit, enforced by cameras, are affecting a 3km (about two-mile) stretch between the Avonmouth and Portbury junctions.

The Highways Agency said drivers should expect delays of about 10 minutes but some motorists have reported it taking up to one and a half hours to travel between Weston-super-Mare and Bristol.

To add to motorists' misery, a section of the Portway will be shut for the next two Sundays so engineers can carry out safety checks on the rock face.

The road was blocked off yesterday between Cumberland Basin and Sylvan Way in Shirehampton between 7am and 5pm for the first of the three Sunday closures.