Traffic Lights and Road Closures Between Nailsea and Portishead

As part of the Hinkley Connection Project, which will connect low-carbon energy from EDF’s new Hinkley Point C power station to UK homes and businesses, National Grid’s contractors, J Murphy’s & Sons Ltd, is installing 10.5 km of underground electricity cables between the west end of Nailsea and Portishead substation. Some of the work will be on public roads and they will need to manage traffic to keep residents, road users and workers safe.

From Thursday 27 February, there will be:

  • Two way traffic lights on Clevedon Road (B13130), Tickenham – for a maximum of two weeks.
  • Temporary road closure on Church Lane, Tickenham – until end of March 2020.
  • Temporary road closure on Washing Pound Lane, Tickenham – until end of March 2020.
  • Temporary road closure on Sheepway, Portbury – until mid-March 2020.

Later in the programme, work will start in the west end of Nailsea and on Whitehouse Lane.

From Monday 9 March 2020, there will be:

  • Temporary traffic lights on Engine Lane and Blackfriars Road – until early April 2020.
  • Temporary road closure on Hannah More Road – from 6 May until 1 June 2020.

From Tuesday 14 April 2020, there will be:

  • Temporary road closure on Whitehouse Lane, Wraxall – until early May 2020.

National Grid and Murphy recognise that these roadworks will cause delays to peoples’ journeys and are sorry for the inconvenience they will cause. They are working to reduce disruption as best they can. They will monitor traffic flows through the traffic lights to help reduce queues and will remove the traffic lights and reopen roads as soon possible. Diversion signs will be in place to show alternative routes for the road closures.

National Grid is working with the local Highways Authority to coordinate and agree the traffic management, with the priority being the safety of all users.  The scheduled dates for working on the highways may change at short notice.

Once the cables are in place and operational, the next step is to start to take down two lines of existing pylons between Nailsea and Portishead and to build new the new line of T-pylons from Sandford to Seabank. Balfour Beatty will build the new pylons for National Grid and are carrying out surveys along the route to help plan the final designs for the overhead line and new pylon locations.

To stay up to date and find more information on all stages of the Hinkley Connection Project – visit the ‘Current Activity’ pages on the National Grid website www.hinkleyconnection.co.uk. Or contact details for the community relations team on 0800 377 7347 or by email at hinkleyconnection@nationalgrid.co.uk.