You may have noticed teams hard at work resurfacing a few roads around Taunton recently, writes Phil Hill.
About time you are entitled to say, but at least give credit where credit is due.
Take Hammet Street and Corporation Street, both leading into the dead centre of town, now smoothed out.
Then there’s the now even-surfaced roundabout at the Priorswood end of the Obridge flyover - well done if you avoided a puncture there, traversing the pothole minefield left by this year’s non-stop rain.
But there’s still plenty to do to right years of neglect.
If you drive off that very same roundabout and head along Priorswood Road, take great care as you turn right into Lyngford Road and then take the first left.
You’ll need to concentrate to avoid the myriad of potholes before you reach Wedlands, where the road is thankfully still in good condition after being resurfaced some months ago.
But beware when you take a left onto Cheddon Road, where you’ll be greeted by a few nasty craters.
It’s the same story if you carry on into Station Road and turn into Priory Bridge Road.
Somerset Council has pledged to continue to prioritise pothole repairs.
"The more dangerous the pothole, the quicker it will be repaired - within two hours for the worst ones and up to 28 days for non-emergency repairs."
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County Hall has also promised to shovel £5m into smartening up the county’s roads, pavements, and cycleways.
Issues such as blocked drains and gulleys will be tackled, while broken signs will be fixed, faded road markings repainted, overgrown vegetation cleared, and litter collected.
The condition of the UK’s roads is a national disgrace.
Somerset’s roads are far from the worst and were recently placed 26th out of 153 authorities in a Department for Transport table based on condition and maintenance.
It’s encouraging to see that the council appreciates that the state of Somerset’s roads is not acceptable and more needs to be done.
Drivers need to be confident that they can get from A to B safely and that their vehicles won’t be damaged by crumbling roads.
The soundings coming out of County Hall are positive, but people will be keeping a close eye on how the repair and maintenance works progress.
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