A350 Westbury to reopen this week after £140k utility works

In mid-July, the A350 at Westbury closed from Monday, July 21, between Haynes Road/West End to Market Place as Wales and West Utilities workmen carried out gas infrastructure works. The GBP140,000 utility upgrade project will see the installation of new pipes that will last longer, meaning they are less likely to leak, and they will be able to transport greener gas, such as hydrogen or biomethane, in the future. The works are expected to finish with the road set to reopen on Friday, August 29.

Wiltshire Council previously said access to the Market Place shopping area will be maintained, but HGV access beyond The Mead and Bitham Park from the north will be restricted to deliveries only. A 7.5-tonne weight limit will be in place on both The Mead and Bitham Park to prevent HGVs from using these routes. All vehicles have been advised use the official diversion route, via the A361 through Southwick and Beckington, followed by the A36 to Upton Scudamore.

The route closure and the proposed diversion have coincided with a number of police incidents revolving around HGVs usage of neighbouring routes. However, several HGVs have been ignoring the 7.5 tonne weight limit put on both The Mead and Bitham Pask to prevent the heavy vehicles from using these routes. According to Wiltshire Council, more police officers are now being stationed on these roads to enforce the weight restrictions.

Transport companies have also been contacted to remind HGV drivers of the restrictions in place in Westbury. At the end of July, a spokesperson for Wiltshire Council said: "We are in close contact with Wales and West Utilities and Wiltshire Police to try to alleviate any disruption. "Signage is in place at strategic locations on main routes in the area to give plenty of early warning to HGV drivers to follow the diversion and avoid the area."

The closure came just weeks after South West Wiltshire's MP Dr Andrew Murrison renewed calls for changes to traffic through Westbury. Earlier this year, Dr Murrison told the Wiltshire Times that a newly-proposed HGV corridor [1] along the A350 "can't work" without plans for a bypass for Westbury. "Westbury needs a western bypass urgently.

The M4-Dorset Coast Study is central to achieving it," he said.

References

^ HGV corridor (www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk)