Wells junction safety works on track for December opening

By Laura Linham 3rd Sep 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 1 hour ago

The major road safety scheme at Whitnell Corner near Wells remains on schedule, with Somerset Council aiming to open the new junction by mid-December.

Work has been under way since July at the junction near West Horrington, where Bath Road, the B3139, meets the B3135. The existing layout is being replaced with a new roundabout as part of a £4 million scheme designed to reduce the risk of serious collisions.

Somerset Council says all of the new junction arms have now been set out and excavated in line with the new road layout. Work is continuing on their formation levels using recycled materials ahead of surfacing later in the project.

Vegetation clearance has also been completed, including the careful removal and disposal of Himalayan balsam, while dry-stone walls have been dismantled and the materials set aside so they can be reused when the walls are rebuilt.

The next major stage will see new drainage systems installed in the area, where the council says drainage provision had previously been lacking.

The works have required a full 24-hour road closure because of the scale of the project, with Somerset Council and contractor Octavius saying it would not have been possible to safely keep the junction open during construction.

Whitnell Corner has a long history of collisions. Somerset Council previously said there had been 67 collisions over 20 years, including 15 serious incidents and one fatality in 2019.

Between 2019 and 2024 alone, the authority recorded 22 collisions at the junction, three of them serious and one fatal.

Download our Nub News App!

- It’s FREE and available now
- Breaking news notifications
- Your Town in Your Pocket

The scheme is funded through Government capital grant money allocated for road safety improvements.

Somerset Council thanked residents, businesses and road users for their patience while the closure remains in place, acknowledging the disruption caused by the works.

The authority said the aim was to deliver a safer junction which would reduce the potential for collisions and serious injury.

If the current timetable holds, the new Whitnell Corner junction should open by the middle of December, bringing the lengthy closure to an end before Christmas.

Further information and frequently asked questions are available through the Somerset Council Whitnell Corner road safety scheme page.