Somerset roadworks confirmed for M5 roundabout upgrade

The works are set to begin after Christmas

Somerset Council has finally confirmed the start date for a year-long, multi-million-pound overhaul of a key roundabout near the M5 in Somerset. The authority has been collaborating with North Somerset Council on a series of schemes designed to improve the A38 corridor between the M5 and Bristol Airport, with the aim of cutting journey times, easing congestion and enhancing road safety.

Somerset Council confirmed in late July that the proposed upgrade of the Edithmead roundabout — which connects Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge to junction 22 of the motorway — would be undertaken by Centregreat, the same firm behind the £10.7m Dunball roundabout improvement scheme, which was completed in November 2025.

The council has now announced that work on the Edithmead roundabout will officially get under way shortly after Christmas, with motorists facing a full year of roadworks while these and other improvements are delivered.

Detailed designs of the improvement scheme and the construction start date were included in papers published ahead of a meeting of the council’s executive committee on September 2.

The council has proposed transforming the roundabout into a signalised ‘throughabout’, enabling traffic from the M5 to move more freely onto the northbound A38 Bristol Road towards Cheddar and Weston-super-Mare.

To achieve this, a ‘through’ route featuring two lanes will be built through the centre of the roundabout, offering a more direct path off the M5 for northbound drivers and reducing the likelihood of queues backing up onto the existing slip-road.

The roundabout as a whole will be widened, with extra lanes added on the approaches from the M5, the A38 Bristol Road and the B3140.

New pedestrian and cycling connections will be established on the western side of the roundabout, creating a safer active travel corridor for those approaching from either end of Bristol Road.

To safeguard the roundabout against flooding, an attenuation basin will be constructed in the centre, alongside improvements to the Brent Broad Rhyne and other nearby waterways.

Josephine Paterson, a senior officer within the council’s infrastructure and transport commissioning team, said in her written report: “The scheme is designed to improve road safety, journey time reliability, active travel connectivity and network resilience along the A38 corridor, while supporting planned housing and employment growth and addressing impacts on the strategic road network.

“Delivery of the scheme avoids the risk of future unfunded intervention requirements arising from National Highways’ growth and network capacity expectations, and ensures that the council maximises the opportunity presented by the current DfT funding programme.”

The Edithmead roundabout is one of four schemes set to be delivered within the Somerset Council area – the others being:

• Traffic calming measures in Rooksbridge to improve pedestrian safety.
• Remodelling the Cross junction (where the A38 Bridgwater Road meets Old Coach Road and Cross Lane, near Axbridge) to create a staggered crossroads with a safer pedestrian crossing.
• Improving the Shute Shelve crossing near Axbridge, which forms part of the Strawberry Line active travel route.

The total cost across all four schemes has been estimated at £18,785,000, inclusive of pre-construction costs and contractor contingencies.

Of this sum, £9,160,192 will be funded by the DfT – with £521,158 already having been allocated to cover design work and business cases, and a further £8,639,034 to be drawn down once the final business case receives approval.

Somerset Council will contribute £9,006,594 towards the schemes – comprising £5,580,000 from its local transport grant (drawn from a separate DfT funding pot), £1,767,994 from underspends on previous major road schemes, and £1,658,000 from funding previously earmarked within its capital programme.

The outstanding £618,000 will be sourced from housing developments across the wider Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge area – with the council required to borrow the funds upfront and repay the debt as developer contributions become available.

A portion of this borrowing may be counterbalanced by an active application to National Highways’ growth and housing accelerator fund, which aims to facilitate the delivery of “strategic transport infrastructure schemes that unlock housing and economic growth”.

The executive committee will vote on September 2 to officially approve the DfT funding for these four projects.

Following this decision, Centregreat will commence a “lead-in” phase of eight weeks between October 14 and December 12, during which preliminary site work may take place and any required construction compound adjacent to the roundabout will be established.

The principal construction work on the Edithmead roundabout will commence on January 6, 2027, and will span an entire year, finishing on January 4, 2028.

Information regarding any partial or complete closures, speed restrictions or diversions which will be in operation during this period will be made available online in the coming weeks.

The council’s construction schedule suggests that the delivery of the new Cross junction will coincide with the latter phases of the Edithmead construction, potentially resulting in two sets of concurrent delays on the A38.

Work on the Cross junction is presently scheduled to start on August 26, 2027, and conclude on March 20, 2028. The dates for the improvements at Rooksbridge and Shute Shelve have not yet been confirmed.