The M5 southbound shuts at junction 21 on weeknights until 19 November, and Locking Moor Road in Weston closes for five nights from Monday 16 November.

The M5 southbound closes between the junction 21 slips on four nights next week, the last of the St Georges Bridge weeknight closures. National Highways’ closure report, updated on 13 November, lists:

  • Monday 16, Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 November: 9pm to 6am
  • Thursday 19 November: 10pm to 6am on Friday 20 November

Traffic leaves at the junction 21 exit slip and rejoins straight away. Nothing is listed for this weekend (National Highways closure report).

Locking Moor Road in Weston-super-Mare closes overnight, 8pm to 6am, for about five nights from Monday 16 November, for resurfacing between the B3440 Locking Road and Clover Court. The signed alternative runs via Drove Road and the A370 Winterstoke Road, Marchfields Way and Herluin Way (North Somerset Council public notices, 11 November).

Station Road, Backwell, is closed on Sunday 15 November, 5am to 5pm and again overnight from 10pm to 6am, for Network Rail’s platform work at the railway bridge. First Bus says the A2 will not serve the Meadow Grove and Nailsea Station stops (First Bus daily service updates).

Also on the roads now and coming up:

  • Purn Way, Bleadon: closed 24 hours a day for about three days from Wednesday 18 November for drainage repairs, then 8am to 5pm for about three days from Monday 23 November for resurfacing. The alternative is Bleadon Road and Chestnut Lane (public notices, 11 November).
  • Sandford Road, Winscombe: First Bus lists it as closed daily, 8am to 5pm, Monday 16 to Friday 20 November, affecting the 126.
  • Cleeve: the new 30mph limit on the A370 Main Road through the village, replacing 40mph, comes into operation on Friday 20 November, with longer double yellow lines on Bishops Road from the same day (public notices, 4 November).
  • Kenn Road, The Triangle and Old Street, Clevedon: two nights of resurfacing, 8pm to 5am, in late November, under an order from 23 November.
  • Baker Street, Weston: closed between Swiss Road and the Gerard Road and Milton Road junctions for about three days from 23 November while Bristol Water replaces a lead pipe; the cycle lane is suspended too.
  • Oldmixon Road, Weston (one night, 7pm to 6am, from 23 November, outside 147 to 149), Kewstoke Road, Kewstoke (9.30am to 3.30pm on 23 November, Anson Road to Norton Lane), Knightcott, Banwell (about three days from 25 November) and Camp Road, Weston (about two days from 27 November) all have short utility closures.
  • Quays Avenue, Portishead: a reversing one-way system from 28 November for about 59 days while Network Rail builds the new roundabout, then five night closures from 30 November for drainage.
  • Link Road, Nailsea: still one-way (detail below), and the council has ordered a full closure for one night, 8.30pm to 5am, from 30 November to resurface it.
  • Montpelier in Weston is in its phased closure, expected to last 85 working days from 2 November.
  • Winterstoke Road bridge in Weston-super-Mare stays shut until early 2028. We have the full story on the delay.

Station Road and the High Street in Nailsea have been shut since Monday 2 November for bus improvement works, with the council’s notice giving about two weeks. We could not confirm on 14 November whether they have reopened: the council has posted no reopening notice, and First Bus’s updates of 13 November list Link Road but not Station Road. We have the full story.

The Banwell bypass will now open in winter 2027, not spring. A report to Full Council on 10 November forecasts completion on 23 December 2027 and asks for another £9.5m. We have the full story.

Potholes: the council is trialling a dedicated “patching gang” with its contractor John Wainwright & Co, working across the district each week on defects found by inspectors and reported by residents. It plans to spend more than £10.1 million on highway maintenance in 2026/27 (North Somerset Council, 23 October). You can report a pothole online.

Detail on all of these below.

Last checked 14 November 2026.

Closed right now

  • Winterstoke Road bridge, Weston-super-Mare: closed to motor vehicles since Monday 24 November 2025, now until early 2028. Pedestrians use a temporary footbridge. The signed diversion runs along The Runway, the A371, Flowerdown Bridge and the A370 (North Somerset Council).
  • Worle High Street: works from Monday 5 October to spring 2027. The Scaurs is one-way northbound and Ebdon Road one-way southbound. Detail below.
  • Link Road, Nailsea: one-way since Monday 28 September, running from the Waitrose junction towards the High Street. The council originally said until late November; First Bus now lists it “until further notice”, with an estimated end of Wednesday 16 December. The left turn from the High Street into Link Road is closed, and drivers carry on to the Brockway roundabout. Cyclists keep two-way access. The A2, X9 and X11 use a temporary stop on Stock Way North. The work replaces the town’s main bus shelter, fills in the layby opposite the Italian restaurant, removes the unused stop outside the Waitrose car park and resurfaces the High Street at the Link Road end (North Somerset Council).
  • M5 at junction 21: three narrow lanes, a 50mph limit and average speed cameras, 24 hours a day, in both directions. On weeknights the southbound carriageway also closes between the junction 21 slips until Thursday 19 November. Detail below.
  • Sheepway bridge, Portishead: closed to all traffic and pedestrians since 29 June. A council order from 9 November covers about 117 more days of bridge strengthening and resurfacing on Station Road and Sheepway, Portbury, for the Portishead railway (public notices, 28 and 29 October). Buses do not run along Sheepway, and First Bus lists it as closed “until further notice”.
  • Harbour Road and Quays Road, Portishead: one-way. First Bus says the system will stay “into 2027”. Buses towards Weston and Portishead High Street leave via Wyndham Way and miss Galingale Way to Parish Wharf (First Bus).
  • Old Street and Kenn Road, Clevedon: town centre works to the end of 2026, with traffic sent round the right-hand side of the clocktower. We covered what changes in Clevedon separately.
  • Main Road, Cleeve: works to early December, with a gateway feature and refuge crossing on Rhodyate Hill and new shelters near Warner Close, Cleeve Garden Centre and Brockley Stores (North Somerset Council). First Bus suspends the X1 stop at Cleeve Garden Centre from 18 to 20 November and at Brockley Stores from 23 November to 12 December, 7am to 6pm.

Worle High Street and the other council schemes

  • Worle High Street (listed above): the scheme brings a 20mph limit on the High Street and surrounding roads, new crossings including one on Station Road, wider footways, new bus shelters and a repaved Maltings precinct. The contractor runs a drop-in centre every Wednesday, 8am to 4pm, at the site compound near Queensway and Walford Avenue (North Somerset Council, 23 September).
  • Worle High Street parking: the parking bays outside numbers 171 to 177, 187 to 191 and 208 to 220, and outside 5 to 8 The Maltings, are suspended from 19 October for about 23 weeks for the bus works. The same order lets the council close the ends of Nutwell Road, Hill Road, Greenwood Road, Mendip Road and Lawrence Road for three days each at some point in the next 18 weeks, and close the High Street and The Maltings at night, 8pm to 6am, for about four weeks in March 2027 (North Somerset Council public notices, 14 and 15 October).
  • Montpelier, Weston-super-Mare: resurfacing, kerb and footway works from Monday 2 November, 8am to 5pm on weekdays, expected to take 85 working days in three phases: first Montpelier East to Bristol Road Lower, then Trewartha Park to Montpelier East, then Gerard Road to Trewartha Park. Diversions use Montpelier East, Trewartha Park, Hill Road and Milton Road (North Somerset Council public notices, 14 and 15 October).
  • Bus stops suspended in Weston and Clevedon over the next fortnight, according to First Bus: Castle Batch (route 7) to Friday 20 November; Whittington Drive (X9) on 19 and 20 November; Curzon Cinema, Clevedon (X5 and X11), 23 to 27 November, 7am to 5pm; and Royal Sands (20, X11 and X21), 24 November to 1 December, 9.30am to 3.30pm.

Recently finished

  • A370 Bristol Road, Puxton: the overnight resurfacing closures were due to end on Thursday 12 November (North Somerset Council, 27 October). First Bus no longer lists the A3, X1 and X1a diversion.
  • Station Road, Congresbury: the one-night closure for patching ran from 11 November.
  • The Strawberry Line: phase 3 of the ash dieback felling, weekdays between Lynch Road bridge and Woodborough Road bridge in Winscombe, was programmed to end on Friday 13 November. The council has posted no extension (North Somerset Council).
  • Guillemot Road, Portishead: the National Grid closure from 2 November was due to last about 13 days. No reopening notice has been posted.
  • Remembrance Sunday closures in Portishead, Nailsea, Worle and Clevedon on 8 November.

The M5 at junction 21: where the bridge work has got to

The motorway is open during the day. What drivers now meet at junction 21, 24 hours a day:

  • a 50mph limit with average speed cameras, live since 10pm on Thursday 3 September
  • three narrow lanes northbound, from 19 September
  • three narrow lanes southbound, from 26 September according to National Highways’ scheme page
  • CCTV enforcement and a free vehicle recovery service, so a breakdown does not block a lane

The weeknight phase ends next week. National Highways’ scheme update of 28 September says crews are strengthening the ground under the hard shoulder, ready for a contraflow that will use it, and improving drainage in the central reservation. What that means for drivers:

  • weeknight closures southbound at junction 21, Monday to Friday, from Monday 28 September until Thursday 19 November. The closure report gives 9pm to 6am on Monday 16, Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 November, and 10pm to 6am on Thursday 19 November
  • a short “up and over” diversion: leave at the junction 21 exit slip and rejoin straight away on the junction 21 entry slip
  • daytime work in the central reservation, typically 7am to 4.30pm, until the end of November, behind the narrow lanes
  • southbound junction 21 open as normal during the day and at weekends

National Highways warns that the dates may change at short notice for weather or operational reasons, and that the work may run beyond them (National Highways scheme page). What happens after 19 November is not yet published. The scheme page has not been updated since 28 September and gives no date for the contraflow, and the closure report, which runs to Thursday 19 November, lists nothing at junctions 19 to 22 beyond these closures. Check Traffic England on the night, because the report changes twice a day.

National Highways also warns that North Somerset Council’s junction improvements on Queensway and the B3440 are running at the same time and may add to congestion around Worle. Worle High Street sits right next to them.

The scheme started in summer 2024. National Highways gives it an end date of 2030, and the published cost is still listed as to be confirmed.

The work itself is substantial: structural concrete repairs, 72 bridge bearings replaced, 18 steel beams under the bridge repainted, a new road surface, waterproofing and new barriers. The northbound entry slip also gets a second lane onto the motorway, which should help the merge at Weston in the long run.

Also worth knowing

  • Milton Park School Street is now built and in force in term time. Milton Park Road and Clarkson Avenue are restricted to authorised vehicles only, Monday to Friday, 8.15am to 9.15am and 3pm to 4pm.
  • Further out: the council has ordered short closures on Kent Road, Congresbury (two nights from 7 December), Station Road, Blagdon and Blagdon Lane, Butcombe (10 to 15 December), and Elm Tree Road, Locking (from 16 December) (public notices, 4 November and 11 November).

Check before you drive

  • North Somerset Council’s roadworks map shows current and planned works across the district, searchable by postcode, road name, town or village. The council aims to publish its own works at least two weeks in advance.
  • National Highways for the M5 itself, which is not the council’s road.
  • Traffic England for live motorway incidents and cameras between junctions 18 and 22.

Banwell bypass

The bypass is the biggest road scheme in North Somerset for decades. It takes the route between the A38 and Weston-super-Mare around the north of Banwell village, which has been a pinch point for years, and it also unlocks the 3,300-home Wolvershill development in the Local Plan.

It is mainly funded by Homes England through the Housing Infrastructure Fund. The original £66m budget did not survive the original contractor withdrawing and three years of construction inflation. The approved budget is £105.176m, with Galliford Try building it.

Update, 3 November: delays to Bristol Water’s water main diversions have pushed the opening to winter 2027 (North Somerset Council, 2 November). A report to Full Council on 10 November forecasts completion on 23 December 2027, 28 weeks later than planned, and asks councillors to approve £9.5m more, funded by borrowing (Council papers, 10 November). We have the full story.

The programme, with the new dates:

Banwell bypass milestones
StageDate
New Moor Road linkApril 2026
Banwell BridgeSummer 2026
Southern linkEarly 2027
Bypass opensWinter 2027 (was spring 2027)
Forecast completion23 December 2027 (was 8 June 2027)

Work on site at the moment includes piling, the river bridge abutments, concrete pours for culverts and mammal passages under the new road. Traffic management appears and disappears at short notice around Banwell, Sandford, Churchill and Winscombe, and the council directs residents to the contractor’s own channels for the week-by-week detail. The scheme also includes walking, cycling and horse riding routes and a biodiversity net gain of over 40%.

The East Street closure that ended on 28 August was part of this work. The council originally programmed it for ten weeks, cut it to five and moved it into the school holidays so the diversion through Worle would not collide with the Queensway and Wolvershill Road Bridge works. That is also why the main Worle High Street scheme slipped, to a 5 October start. The council’s own announcement said six weeks in one paragraph and five in the next; the closure as advertised by the bus operator ran 27 July to 28 August, which is five weeks.

The Portishead railway works

Rebuilding the Portishead line means three miles of new track, two new stations and a great deal of disruption in Portishead and Pill until 2028. The position on 14 November:

  • Sheepway bridge is closed to all traffic and pedestrians. Network Rail’s page still says “until autumn 2026”, but the council’s order from 9 November covers about 117 more days of strengthening and resurfacing, and First Bus lists Sheepway as closed “until further notice”. Buses do not run along Sheepway and the stops at Conference Close, Shipway Farm, Elm Tree Farm and Station Road are not served.
  • National Cycle Route 26 is diverted via Quays Avenue, Phoenix Way and the Ecology Park for the duration.
  • Harbour Road and Quays Road in Portishead are one-way. Network Rail’s page says until autumn 2026; First Bus says “into 2027”. A new Quays Avenue and roundabout are being built to make room for the station, and Quays Avenue gets its own reversing one-way system from 28 November.
  • At Pill, the cuttings beside the railway are being excavated for the new platform and the soil reinforced with more than 2,000 steel rods, due to finish by the end of 2026. Underbanks was closed from 20 August to 29 October for a drainage upgrade; Network Rail has still not posted that it has reopened. The right of way between Marsh Lane bridge and the Hammer and Spanner sculpture is suspended until the work finishes in spring 2028, because it is being used as a haul road (Network Rail).

Passenger services are due to start in 2028, hourly to Bristol Temple Meads in about 25 minutes. More on that on our train times page.

The M5 and the key routes

Which M5 junction for which town The motorway runs south west down the district, the towns sit on the coast side M5 Junction 18a / 18 Avonmouth and Bristol. Not a North Somerset exit. Junction 19: Portishead, Pill, Easton-in-Gordano A369 to Portishead and into Bristol. Gordano services. Junction 20: Clevedon The only junction that lands you straight in a seafront town. Junction 21: Weston-super-Mare, Worle A370 into Weston. Also Puxton, Hewish and the Helicopter Museum. Junction 22: Brent Knoll and Burnham Somerset, not North Somerset. The next exit south of the district. Nailsea, Backwell, Yatton and Congresbury are inland: use junction 20 or the A370. Diagram by The North Somerset Post.
The M5 junctions serving North Somerset. Diagram by The North Somerset Post.

Four roads carry most of the district’s traffic and are worth knowing by name:

  • A370, Bristol to Weston-super-Mare via Backwell, Congresbury and Worle. The spine of the district and the road that jams first.
  • A369, Portishead to Bristol over Rownham Hill. This is the Portishead commute, and the X4 bus uses it.
  • A38, along the eastern edge past Bristol Airport, Churchill and Sidcot. The Banwell bypass connects to it.
  • A371 and A368, the Weston to Banwell and Weston to Churchill routes through the Mendip fringe villages.

Roads that cannot be dug up

This is the most useful and least known piece of council data. After a road has been substantially reconstructed, the council can impose a Section 58 restriction that bans further street works on it for up to three years, except in an emergency. If you want to know whether a road near you is likely to be closed again soon, the register tells you.

The August 2026 register lists 178 restrictions, 55 of them currently in force. Recent additions include the whole of Bridgwater Road in Long Ashton (in force from 3 August 2026 to 2 August 2029), Bristol Road and West Wick in Weston-super-Mare (8 June 2026 to 7 June 2029), Heywood Road in Pill (to May 2029) and Stuart Road in Weston (to February 2029). Proposed restrictions cover Westfield Road and Moorfield Road in Backwell from 4 August 2026, and four Clevedon roads (Lower Queens Road, Pizey Avenue, Old Church Road and Elton Road) from 14 September 2026.

The full list, with start and end dates for every street, is published as a PDF on the council’s substantial roadworks page.

Parking, town by town

All prices below are the council’s own, taken from its car park pages.

Weston-super-Mare

  • Marine Parade, 443 bays on the seafront: peak season (2 March to 31 October) £3.50 for two hours, £7.00 for four, £12.00 all day. Low season £4.00 all day. The seafront gates are locked by the rangers roughly 15 minutes before the end of their shift, which is 6pm in winter and 10pm from May to September.
  • Royal Sands, 1,000 spaces: peak £7.00 for four hours or £14.00 all day, low season £2.70 and £4.00. Open 8am to 9pm.
  • Carlton Street multi-storey: £1.70 for an hour, £6.10 for four, £14.00 for 24 hours, £26.00 for a weekend ticket. The upper floors are currently closed; the council points drivers to the Sovereign Centre instead, which has more than 800 spaces at £1 for an hour up to £5 for 24 hours. Its hours have been extended to 11pm Sunday to Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday to cope.
  • Locking Road long stay on Francis Fox Road, 325 spaces: £6.00 for 24 hours, £30.00 for a week. The cheapest way to leave a car near the station.

Clevedon

  • Salthouse Fields, 144 spaces, 2.1m barrier: peak £1.60 an hour, £5.10 for four hours, £8.10 until 6pm. Low season £4.10 for the day. Coaches £10 in peak.

Portishead

  • Lake Grounds Sea Front, Esplanade Road, 200 spaces: free.

Nailsea, Backwell and Worle

  • Station Road, Nailsea, 230 spaces: £1 for two hours, £2.50 for three, £3.50 all day, charged 9am to 6pm Monday to Saturday.
  • Nailsea and Backwell station, 271 spaces with 5 EV bays: 40p for 20 minutes, £3.60 for 24 hours, £5.20 for two days. Permits £250 for six months, £450 for twelve.
  • Worle Parkway (Diamond Batch), 312 spaces: 40p for 20 minutes, £3.60 for 24 hours, £12.20 a week, £450 a year. Ten minutes free in the drop-off bay.

Winscombe

  • Hillyfields Way, 51 spaces: free.

Blue badge holders get an hour free beyond the expiry of a purchased ticket in most council car parks. Most sites are paid through MiPermit rather than a machine.

Frequently asked questions

Is the M5 closed at junction 21 this week?

Southbound, at night. The carriageway between the junction 21 slips closes from 9pm to 6am on Monday 16, Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 November, and from 10pm to 6am on Thursday 19 November, the last night of this phase. Traffic comes off at the exit slip and straight back on. Northbound and daytime traffic is not affected beyond the 50mph narrow lanes.

Are the M5 speed cameras at junction 21 switched on?

Yes. The 50mph limit and average speed cameras went live at 10pm on Thursday 3 September 2026 for the St Georges Bridge scheme, alongside CCTV enforcement and a free vehicle recovery service. They stay on for the rest of the rebuild.

Is the M5 at Weston down to narrow lanes?

Yes, in both directions. Three narrow lanes have run northbound since 19 September and southbound since 26 September, 24 hours a day, at 50mph.

Is Locking Moor Road closed?

At night from Monday 16 November, for about five nights, 8pm to 6am, between the B3440 Locking Road and Clover Court, for resurfacing. The diversion uses Drove Road and the A370.

Is Station Road in Backwell closed?

On Sunday 15 November, 5am to 5pm and overnight from 10pm to 6am, at the railway bridge, according to First Bus. The A2 misses the Meadow Grove and Nailsea Station stops.

Is the A370 at Puxton still closed at night?

No. The overnight resurfacing closures ran from 2 November and were due to end on Thursday 12 November, and First Bus no longer lists the bus diversion.

When does Winterstoke Road bridge reopen?

Early 2028, according to the council’s update of 5 October 2026, which the council leader repeated on 29 October. The previous target was summer 2027. Summer heat stopped piling beside the railway, and the council and its contractor Octavius are looking at whether the date can be brought forward. The bridge has been closed to vehicles since 24 November 2025; pedestrians can still cross on a temporary footbridge.

When do the Worle High Street works finish?

They started on Monday 5 October and run to spring 2027. The Scaurs is one-way northbound and Ebdon Road one-way southbound, and a 20mph limit comes in on the High Street and surrounding roads.

When does the Cleeve 30mph limit start?

On Friday 20 November, when the council’s order cutting the A370 Main Road through Cleeve from 40mph to 30mph comes into operation. The bus works on Main Road run to early December.

When will the Banwell bypass open?

In winter 2027, after delays to Bristol Water’s main diversions. A report to Full Council on 10 November forecasts completion on 23 December 2027, 28 weeks later than planned.

Why is Sheepway closed?

Sheepway bridge is being strengthened for the Portishead railway rebuild. It has been closed to all traffic and pedestrians since 29 June, and the council’s latest order, from 9 November, runs for about 117 days. A shuttle bus has been running on weekdays between Elm Tree Farm, Wyndham Way and Sainsbury’s.

Where do I find current roadworks in North Somerset?

On the council’s own roadworks map, which covers current and planned works and is searchable by postcode or road name. For the M5 itself, use National Highways.

Which M5 junction is Weston-super-Mare?

Junction 21, then the A370 into the town. Junction 20 is Clevedon and junction 19 is Portishead.

Is parking free anywhere in North Somerset?

Yes. The Lake Grounds seafront car park in Portishead (200 spaces) and Hillyfields Way in Winscombe (51 spaces) are both free council car parks.

What is a Section 58 restriction?

A ban on street works in a recently reconstructed road, usually for up to three years, so a newly resurfaced road is not immediately dug up again. North Somerset publishes a register of every restricted street with its dates.

Sources

Roadworks change daily. Check the council’s map and National Highways before you set off.