Motorists traveling near Wellington can now enjoy smoother journeys following the early completion of a significant £5.7 million road improvement scheme on the A38 Chelston Link Road, the vital connection between Wellington and junction 26 of the M5.
Closed to traffic since mid-June, this key route—known locally as ‘the concrete carriageway’—links numerous villages in the Blackdown Hills to the motorway. While the road was closed, traffic was rerouted through Taunton and even as far as the Tiverton M5 junction.
Thanks to innovative construction methods and night working, Somerset Council and contractor Heidelberg Materials successfully reopened the road by the night of Saturday, September 6, beating the original schedule by approximately two weeks.
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Councillor Mike Rigby, Somerset Council’s portfolio holder for economic development, praised the project’s completion outside Foxmoor Business Park. He explained: “We crushed the old 51-year-old concrete carriageway on site to serve as the new road’s base. The previous surface was deteriorated, with missing kerbstones and broken drains, but now everything is fixed, on budget, and ahead of time.”
The summer timing was deliberate to ensure that National Highways’ access to its nearby M5 depot remained unobstructed for essential winter gritting operations. While some initial concerns arose over traffic disruption, Rigby noted that the project ran smoothly with minimal complaints and effective traffic management.
Looking ahead, the upgraded link road is expected to accommodate significantly more traffic as new housing developments emerge around Wellington, and especially once the town’s much-anticipated new railway station opens. Although delays have arisen due to a dispute over junction standards with Lidl on Nynehead Road, the improvements will facilitate easier access to the station once operational.
“This project doesn’t increase capacity but provides a much-needed high-quality connection between the motorway and the new railway station,” said Rigby, emphasizing Wellington’s current status as the largest town on the Great Western Railway route between Penzance and London Paddington without a station—a historical oversight soon to be corrected.
Somerset continues to invest in infrastructure, with other projects including the Dunball roundabout upgrade near junction 23 of the M5 and the Celebration Mile development in Bridgwater. Rigby believes the techniques pioneered in the Chelston scheme—particularly replacing aged concrete with tarmac—offer valuable lessons for future roadworks, though he cautions that each project has unique challenges.
He also highlighted the importance of the Dunball upgrade, which will introduce a ‘through-about’ to ease congestion and support the 4,000 jobs linked to the upcoming Agratas electric vehicle battery manufacturing site scheduled to open in two years.
The successful early delivery of the Chelston Link Road improvements marks a positive step forward for Wellington’s transport infrastructure, promising smoother journeys and stronger connectivity for years to come.