Essential works are being carried out by Somerset Council to renew traffic signals on a major intersection in Shepton Mallet later this month.

Traffic lights at the Charlton Road crossroads in the town have come to the end of their working life and need replacing. The junction is the intersection of the A37 and A361. Work starts on Monday, January 22.

The Council’s signals recovery team is holding a public drop-in about the scheme from 4-6pm on Monday 15 January in the Council Chamber at its offices in the Shape Mendip building, in Shepton Mallet. Everyone is welcome to come along.

Please either call at reception or follow temporary signs on site after 5pm, which will direct visitors to the room. Some parking is available on site.

The scheme is part of Somerset Council’s ongoing county-wide signals recovering programme. The existing signals have been in service for up to 40 years, and are now in a state of disrepair. Parts are no longer available so the units need to be replaced entirely.

The package of work starts Monday 22 January and will complete this summer.
While work is being done there will be temporary traffic lights in operation.

The new signals will be more efficient, eco-friendly and should improve traffic flow, as well as providing much safer access for pedestrians and cyclists.
The team will also be taking the opportunity to resurface significant stretches of the road in the works area at the conclusion of the programme.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Transport and Digital said:

This work has to be carried out, doing nothing isn’t an option. Sooner or later these signals will fail and that is going to cause delays and major disruption for residents and road users.

We appreciate there is likely to be some impact on traffic, but our team will be doing everything they can to minimise this and will be using specialised smart technology to monitor and control traffic build-up. This has proven to be highly effective in minimising delays at other sites.

I would encourage anyone who can to try to get to the public drop in this coming Monday in Shepton Mallet if they have any queries or concerns they wish to discuss with the team.

If you can’t make the drop-in and you do have questions please email majorschemes@somerset.gov.uk.

For travel updates follow @TravelSomerset on X and Facebook. Report a problem on the road by visiting Report a problem on the road (somerset.gov.uk).