DRIVERS have been warned to expect more delays on the A36 when work to install a new zebra crossing is carried out.

The creation of the zebra crossing, on Warminster Road, Bath, starts on August 26 and is expected to take two weeks to complete.

Somerset Council is urging motorists who use this route to plan their journeys in advance as this work will coincide with a National Highways project at Limpley Stoke, which has closed a section of the A36 until next spring.

From August 26, temporary two-way traffic signals will be in place on Warminster Road between its junctions with North Road and Inglis Court, as a pedestrian island crossing point outside Bathwick St Mary Primary School is upgraded to a zebra crossing.

Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for transport, said: “The new crossing will provide a safer place for pedestrians to cross and will be particularly beneficial to pupils and their families on their journey to the nearby Bathwick St Mary Primary School.

“Given the impact other works in the area are having on the traffic network, specifically the National Highways closure at Limpley Stoke, we’re keeping A36 Warminster Road open to traffic throughout our works under two-way lights to help minimise disruption.”

Footways at the crossing point will be widened and resurfaced, guard railings removed and replaced, high-friction surfacing added, and a new drainage gully will also be installed.

The zebra crossing project comes after Frome and East Somerset MP Anna Sabine warned the National Highways project at Limpley Stoke could bring villages and towns, including Midsomer Norton to a “complete standstill”, the local MP has warned.

National Highways closed the A36 Warminster Road between Limpley Stoke and Monkton Combe on August 12, with the road to remain shut until the spring.

It comes after cracking was discovered in the footpath along the road between Limpley Stoke and the Limpley Stoke viaduct, with the work intended to prevent further movement.

But Frome and East Somerset MP Anna Sabine warned: “This is a hugely impactful road closure, and we have been given an unacceptably short amount of notice.

“People commuting to Frome are expected to follow a 21-mile diversion via Chippenham, but in practice, many will divert through villages like Norton St Philip and Hinton Charterhouse, or through local towns like Midsomer Norton.

“I am particularly worried about the impact on villages where many roads are already narrow or blocked by parked cars.”