Washford Cross roundabout can't come soon enough after latest crash (From Somerset County Gazette)
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Washford Cross roundabout can't come soon enough after latest crash
9:00am Friday 5th October 2012 in West Somerset
By Hannah Green
The scene of the incident on the A39 between Williton and Washford Cross. PHOTO: Steve Guscott
THE latest crash on the A39 near Williton suggests the proposed roundabout at Washford Cross can’t come soon enough, it was claimed this week.
The road was closed for four hours on Saturday after a car was in collision with a motorbike at 10.30am between the village and Washford Cross, which police, fire and ambulance crews attended.
Paramedics treated the driver at the scene and the male motorcyclist was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital with leg injuries, although they are not believed to be serious.
EDF Energy has agreed to fund a roundabout at the notorious junction of the A39 and B3190 but work due to start next month has now been postponed until February.
In the five years up to June 2012 there were eight accidents at the crossroads (two of which were serious) and at another junction 50 metres away towards Williton.
Cllr Robert McDonald is chair of Williton Parish Council, which has been instrumental in the campaign to improve safety at the accident blackspot.
He said: “The roundabout is definitely needed. I’m not surprised there was an accident there again this weekend.
“It is sad but it really is an accident waiting to happen.
“During the holiday season we also get tailbacks of traffic with people leaving the holiday parks and it can be quite difficult to get out of Williton.
“The funding is there, all the field tests have been done and everything is ready to go ... it is just a question of getting the resources and work schedules sorted now.”
But Chris Moiser, park director of Tropiquaria, situated close to the junction, is sceptical about the plans.
He said: “Everyone is saying we want a roundabout there but whether it will stop accidents or just move the problem further up the road I don’t know.
“I do know that you should never put a roundabout at the bottom of a hill because of visibility issues but that is exactly what they are planning to do here.
“I think the whole road needs to be reorganised.
“Something needs to be done – the whole road is an accident blackspot, all the way from Norton Manor Camp to Minehead.”
