A358 near Ilminster to be protected from flooding through £100,000 scheme
The road has been prone to flooding in recent years.
The main road between Chard and Ilminster could be better protected from future flooding under a new £100,000 scheme.
The A358 runs from the northern edge of Chard to the A303 at the Southfields roundabout, crossing over the River Isle at the southern end of Donyatt.
The road has been prone to serious flooding in recent years, rendering it “frustratingly and inconveniently impassable” and resulting in numerous closures and lengthy diversions for local motorists.
Following pressure from Donyatt Parish Council, the Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) has now committed £100,000 to a major scheme to reduce the flood risk on this crucial stretch of road.
Details of the scheme were published ahead of the SRA board meeting in Yeovil on Friday (March 20) as part of its enhanced programme – a series of projects it funds to provide additional flood prevention on top of work carried out by the council, the Environment Agency (EA) and the Somerset Drainage Board Consortium.
A spokesperson said: “This section of road has often been forced to close in recent years, as water has run off from nearby land and drains have been overwhelmed, leaving the carriageway frustratingly and inconveniently impassable.”
An average of 12,700 vehicles use this stretch of the A358 every day, according to Somerset Council’s official traffic monitoring figures.
The existing drains along the A358 discharge into the River Isle, which flows north around the western edge of Ilminster and eventually joins the River Parrett near Hambridge.
Somerset Council’s highways team will be carrying out a series of improvements at Donyatt, funded by the SRA, clearing the “points of outfall” into the Isle and ensuring they remain in working order.
The Isle itself will be subject to a “significant vegetation clearance”, with contractors removing silt and debris from the watercourse to ensure larger volumes of water can be carried downstream.
The drains along this section of the A358 will be jetted to remove further obstructions, and a full CCTV survey of the drainage system will be carried out to identify any further improvements which may be needed.
The SRA spokesperson added: “The scheme seeks to reduce the likelihood of implementing road closures due to flooding and as a result, reduce the disruption caused by the need to divert traffic during such events."
“With operational surface water outfalls reinstated, it is anticipated that the duration of the flood events could be reduced.”