Plans for a multi-million pound project that will see Burnham-On-Sea’s M5 roundabout upgraded with a new ‘throughabout’ lane to enable traffic to flow through the middle have moved a further step closer this month after it was confirmed that a Welsh civil engineering firm has been lined up to deliver the improvements.
Centregreat, based in Bridgend, completed the £10.7m Dunball scheme near junction 23 of the M5 for Bridgwater in November 2025 after a year of construction, funded largely through the government’s Levelling Up fund.
Somerset Council had previously indicated it hoped to appoint the same contractor for the Burnham-On-Sea Edithmead roundabout upgrade to reduce procurement costs, and this has now been confirmed in a council report this week.
Somerset Council is working jointly with North Somerset Council on a package of improvements along the A38 between the M5 and Bristol Airport, aimed at reducing congestion, improving safety and shortening journey times.
Final business cases have recently been submitted to the Department for Transport, with a decision expected within months. While the overall cost of the A38 improvements is expected to be around £30m, Centregreat’s tender value for works within Somerset — including Dunball and the A38 schemes — is estimated at £12.8m.
Tender documents identify three schemes Somerset Council will take forward: transforming the Edithmead roundabout into a signalised “throughabout” to improve traffic flow from the M5 onto the A38; remodelling the Cross junction near Axbridge to create a staggered crossroads with a safer pedestrian crossing; and improving the Shute Shelve crossing on the Strawberry Line active travel route.
A fourth scheme involving traffic calming in Rooksbridge is not included in the tender and may be delivered separately or removed to reduce costs.
The council says it will confirm the timetable for the works — and the scale of any road closures or diversions — once the Department for Transport approves the business case.
Trees were removed on the roundabout earlier this year, as reported here, ahead of work starting.
