COUNCILLORS are urging highway chiefs to look again at plans to close a vital link road between Wellington and the M5 motorway for three months.

There has been uproar ever since the resurfacing plans for the main Chelston link road and Junction 26 were first announced by Somerset Council with traders at the Foxmoor Business Park saying the closure will cause major problems to their businesses and commuters fearing long delays.

Cllr John Thorne, speaking at Wellington Town Council’s annual meeting on May 7, said: “This is such an important issue for Wellington – we’re going to have three months of traffic hell. It’s going to be horrendous for people travelling out of town and those wanting to get into Wellington.”

Cllr Thorne added: “The work needs doing and it is long overdue, nobody is disputing that – but closing the road for three months … Wellington is being treated like a second class society!

“Other works have been carried out around that junction before and they’ve never taken three months to sort out and it doesn’t mean the road has to be completely closed. There has been no real explanation as to why it’s going to take that long.

“I really don’t understand why they don’t take longer to do the work, but keep the road open in sections and then close it at night when there’s little traffic.

“The work is due to start in the middle of June so it’s highly unlikely that they will change their plans now.”

But Cllr Steve Mercer said he did not think it was too late in the day for the plans to be “tweaked.”

Cllr Andy Govier said: “This is going to cause major disruption. I think we should ask Somerset Council about some of the points Cllr Thorne has raised and ask for some answers.

“I don’t want to see that road closed for three months because it will cause chaos. I would like to explore the options available, but the alternatives might be so expensive to implement.”

Cllr Justin Cole said the plans had been announced at short notice and had left businesses very little time to make suitable arrangements.

“One of the difficulties I’ve got with this is that the plans were announced at such short notice,” he said. “If you’re a business you just haven’t had time to plan anything – that is unfair in my opinion.

“Businesses are going to be jeopardised – we have to say something about this.”

Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky said: “I see the need for doing the work, but we’re supposed to be the Gateway to The Blackdowns. What they’re talking about is going to make us the Gateway to Blockdowns.”

Councillors agreed to that they should ask Somerset Council for some answers to their concerns about the planned works.

Somerset Council was holding the first of two drop-in sessions about the work on May 15 at Wellington Football Club. A second session will be held on May 21 from 3.30pm to 7pm.