**Update on road closures 11/1/16**

• Lysander Road will be closed tonight (11/1) between Horsey Roundabout and the West Hendford Junction from 7pm to 6am to enable the existing overhead traffic signals to be removed.
• Tomorrow night (12/1) Lysander Road will be fully open
• Wednesday 13 January: the east bound side of Lysander Road will be closed (heading towards the roundabout) from 7pm to 6am
• Thursday 14 January: the east bound side of Lysander Road will be closed (heading towards the roundabout) from 7pm to 6am
• Friday 15 January: the west bound side of Lysander Road will be closed (heading away from roundabout) from 7pm to 6Am

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Major work to improve key transport links in Yeovil is continuing to make good progress with the upgrade of the Horsey Roundabout nearing completion.

Somerset County Council carried out most of the work before Christmas with several road closures in place, before focus switched to Lysander Road.

The next steps, starting on Monday 4 January, will see the existing pedestrian crossings on this route removed, the central islands widened to provide a larger area for pedestrians and cyclists to wait, and a new pedestrian and cycle crossing installed.

Carriageway resurfacing will then take place starting on Monday 11 January using overnight road closures between 7pm to 7am – although these will be kept to a minimum.

Temporary crossing facilities will be in place while the new toucan crossing is installed, with work also including a new underground traffic detection system and new signs and road markings.

The Horsey Roundabout upgrade is the first phase of a £14 million programme of works to improve roads along the Eastern and Western Corridors of Yeovil.

The second phase will see an upgrade of the Hospital Roundabout, also along the Eastern Corridor. Work here is likely to start on Monday 1 February, although may be brought forward depending on progress at Horsey. Further details about the timing of this work and traffic management arrangements will be available later in January.

The works at the Hospital Roundabout will see dedicated left turn lanes provided on the Queensway, Kingston and Reckleford approaches together with a reduction in the width of the circulatory carriageway. This should help to increase the capacity of the roundabout and improve safety through the junction.

Cllr David Fothergill, Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “We’re investing a huge amount of money across Yeovil to make sure its transport links can cope with future developments.

“Planning all the work is far from straightforward but we’re doing what we can to keep disruption to a minimum.

“We understand people won’t appreciate the work while it’s taking place, but hopefully they will support our end goal – which is to make sure the town has a road system fit for the future.”

Work to improve links along the Western Corridor of the town is also being planned. It was hoped to start this in January but the County Council is still working through the tendering process to appoint a contractor which offers the best value for money. This scheme will now take place later in the year, with the added benefit that work will not clash with the Hospital Roundabout upgrade.

Cllr Fothergill added: “There’s already plenty of work going on around Yeovil, so we feel the best plan of action is to take time and make sure we get the details of the scheme absolutely right and at the right price.”

As well as increasing the capacity of major junctions and improving traffic flow, the Eastern and Western Corridor schemes are essential to support Yeovil’s economic growth and are necessary to allow major developments to go ahead, including:

• More than 2,000 new homes at sites in Brimsmore, Lufton and Lyde Road
• More than 20 hectares of employment land at Lufton and Bunford Park
• Redevelopment of the town centre including the cattle market

The improvements should reduce projected future peak journey times by 23 per cent (West Coker Road to Thorne Lane) and 16 per cent (Horsey Roundabout to Lyde Road) – compared to what they would be with the developments in place but without the improvements.