Purpose

On 25/09/25, a tanker delivering kerosene
suffered a leak, causing it to spill onto the A37 between Pensford
and Chelwood roundabout. Passing vehicles spread this spill
further. Despite the initial cleanup on site, a materials
specialists that we arranged to visit the site advised us that the
road surface had been damaged by the kerosene and that it was
necessary to remove the contaminated surface and replace with new.
Due to the high volume of traffic carried by the A37, which is part
of the national Primary Route Network and a major route through
Somerset into Bristol, it was imperative to get the road re-opened
as soon as possible. The signed diversion route was long and some
drivers were using inappropriate local rural lanes to avoid the
closure. A major bus route serving Wells, the Somer Valley and
Bristol was affected together with a local Chew Valley bus
service.
We used the services of our term highway contractor to arrange for
a suitable diversion and traffic management to be put in place, as
well as for the damaged road surface to be taken up and
replaced.
The cost of the works and associated management is estimated to be
£300,000. It is necessary to uplift the Highway Maintenance
Capital Budget by this amount to cover the cost. We will be seeking
recovery of the cost in full from the insurers of the company that
operated the tanker from which the kerosene leak
occurred.

Decision

That the Highway Maintenance Capital Budget is
uplifted by £300,000 to cover the cost of these unplanned
works and that the costs are recovered from the third party or
their insurers.

Alternative options considered

Option 1 - To resurface the road as set out
above
Option 2 - Not resurfacing the road – this was ruled out on
the advice of the materials specialist, which had advised that the
road surface had been damaged by the kerosene and was liable to
fail, posing a future safety issue.