A PLANNED two-month closure of the A39 for a gas mains replacement could have been even longer, Williton residents have been told.

The £1.2 million project in Long Street was due to have started on Monday (November 9) but was postponed until the New Year by Wales and West Utilities (WWU) after a furious backlash from local councillors, businesses, and residents.

The firm said it would use the time to engage further with local people, and has now confirmed the project will go ahead on January 11.

An online conference call last week gave a working group of Williton parish councillors and business representatives an opportunity to feed back local concerns to the compay.

However, those attending who spoke afterward to the Free Press said the company had appeared not to be receptive to difficult questions, which it described as ‘negativity’ when it wanted ‘positivity’.

The meeting was described as ‘disappointing’ when it emerged the whole half-mile length of Long Street would be closed for the duration of the project, regardless of the impact on the village.

It was accepted side roads through housing estates would become rat runs, emergency vehicles would have to find their own way around the closure, and there was no answer when it was pointed out a fuel tanker which supplied the village petrol station was only physically capable of entering from the Bridgwater direction.

A WWU spokesperson told the Free Press the company planned to double the size of its usual work crew to 10 and would be working every weekend throughout the project.

But, even with those measures the closure would still last two months.

The spokesperson said: “We always plan our works carefully, doing our best to ensure we use our resources in the best way to help us get things done as quickly and as safely as possible.

“We typically use between four and 10 engineers depending on the location and type of work.

“In some locations, having more engineers on site would not make a difference, for example, when working in areas of tight excavations, when working on narrow roads, or when having to use a limited amount of heavy equipment.

“There can also be times when we encounter engineering difficulties that require us to source specialist equipment from elsewhere, which means we will have to work in another location while we wait.

“On this project, we will be using 10 members of staff and, unless unexpected engineering difficulties stop us, will be working every weekend on this phase, as planned.”

WWU is upgrading about four miles of gas pipes in the Williton and Watchet areas serving about 700 customers.

It previously closed Brendon Road, the only main road into Watchet, for what was expected to be six weeks, but brought in extra crew members and introduced weekend working which saw it reopened in half the time.

Watchet Town Council helped to arrange for a free shuttle bus to connect the town with Williton and Doniford during the closure.