AN MP has demanded a Parliamentary debate over the length and frequency of M5 motorway closures through Somerset.

Drivers have endured numerous lengthy closures and diversions travelling though the county in the past 12 months as a result of maintenance work and serious crashes.

The latest major incident saw a woman pedestrian in her 70s killed after being hit by a lorry on Sunday, March 23, when the motorway was closed northbound near Bridgwater for about 11 hours.

Now, Bridgwater’s Conservative MP Sir Ashley Fox has asked the Government for a debate on the length of motorway closures, querying whether the correct approach was being taken by National Highways, which maintains England’s motorways.

National Highways said it worked hard to ensure closures, planned or due to incidents, were kept as ‘short as humanly possible’.

The Bridgwater stretch of the M5 has seen significant disruption over the past year from both planned roadworks and several serious crashes, leading to severe congestion on smaller local roads as motorists are diverted or attempt to avoid disruption.

A long-running Dunball roundabout upgrade near junction 23, which will be completed by Christmas, has also resulted in long queues on Bridgwater’s A38 Bristol Road, with disruption being compounded by one-way systems and closures on the A39 Bath Road to upgrade local infrastructure ahead of the £4 billion ‘gigafactory’ development in the Gravity enterprise zone.

The Somerset section of the M5 has also seen a number of crashes resulting in death or serious injury, including one last November where it was closed for more than six hours when a 17-year-old Wellington girl was hit by a lorry after she left a police car stopped on the hard shoulder.

Sir Ashley told the House of Commons the current approach by National Highways was greatly disruptive to residents and businesses.

He said: “The M5 motorway in Somerset is being closed ever more frequently and for longer durations.

“This causes great inconvenience to businesses and residents, occasionally gridlocking the town of Bridgwater.

“Can we have a debate in Government time on the policy of National Highways for when and for how long it closes our motorways?”

Leader of the House Lucy Powell said: “I know how frustrating that kind of road closure can be on constituents and those travelling.

“Poorly planned roadworks and highway agency plans can be devastating.

“I will support him in raising these issues with Ministers and, hopefully, in the House.”

National Highways route manager Jonathan Hill later defended the agency’s approach to both planned roadworks and emergency incidents.

Mr Hill said: “The majority of impactful unplanned closures are as a result of police-led incidents, and we always ensures we have everything in place to reopen the road as soon as is practicable once the scene is released to us.

“On the M5 in Somerset, in fact, our data shows we respond to and clear incidents more quickly than the rest of the South West region.

“We will continue to engage with both emergency services and Somerset Council to identify opportunities for improvement.”