A call has been made for National Highways to provide more traffic marshals for the A36 closure at Limpley Stoke.

Wiltshire MP Brian Mathew raised concerns about congestion from vehicles using alternative routes into the village to bypass roadworks that began in August and will end in March next year.

National Highways is carrying out essential repairs to the cracked road surface and stabilising the embankment to prevent further subsidence.

But villagers have raised concerns about further congestion when local schools begin the autumn term next week.

Ian Barnes, the Limpley Stoke Parish Council chairman, said: "The community is grateful to Brian Mathew for his efforts to ease the problems created for Limpley Stoke by the closure of the A36.

"Many residents continue to be affected by the closure, some suffering verbal abuse by drivers, some being endangered by pavement mounting vehicles, regular speeding through the village and so on.

"Most of the problems are created by the sheer volumes of traffic that are now passing through our narrow lanes. Last week our traffic signs counted almost 20,000 vehicles on Lower Stoke and Crowe Lane. This is more than four times normal.

"On Wednesday the schools go back and the community does fear for the safety of children living in and coming through the village. We need traffic to be properly marshalled. This is not happening.

"The villages around here need help and we, as Parish Councils, do not have the remit, the training or the finance to solve these issues ourselves."

Mr Mathew, the new Liberal Democrat MP for Devizes and Melksham, had a remote meeting with National Highways officials on Tuesday, August 27 about the A36 closure.

He told Limpley Parish Council: “The key points I put to them were the concerns about pedestrian safety, especially for school children with the term about to start.”

Traffic volumes through Limpley Stoke have more than doubled since the roadworks began on Monday, August 12 and residents have called for ANPR resident-only access.

Mr Mathew said National Highways is only providing marshals for the north and south ends of the roadworks, adding: “It would be for Wiltshire Council to consider whether more can be done in the villages.

“However, they made the point that marshals in the village couldn’t lawfully prevent people using the road and can only advise.”

Regarding the ANPR and resident-only access request, Mr Mayhew said: “We were told that this would require closing of the road to all but local residents, which would require a legal reason to do so, and there would then be a potential problem of defining the extent of ‘residence’ leading to arguments.

“They would need ‘warranted’ officers, i.e. police, or their own highways patrols to deal with it, as the marshals could not be so empowered.”

Mr Mathew has asked officials to install more signage at the Warminster approach to Midford Lane. He also asked for ANPR resident-only access but was told this could not be managed.

He also asked officials how far they can influence Google Maps to stop drivers from using local alternative routes to avoid the works.

Many drivers are following SatNavs through Limpley Stoke and Bradford on Avon to bypass the works between Limpley Stoke and Monkton Coombe.

Mr Mathew said: “Officers responded that they are reviewing the situation on a daily basis and are prepared to adjust their approach where they can, if necessary.”

National Highways officials met with the headteacher of Freshford Church School to discuss concerns about children’s safety when the new term starts on Wednesday, September 4.

Meanwhile, local bus companies say they are experiencing delays to services of between three and five minutes because of congestion, Mr Mathew said.

National Highways’ Senior Project Manager Hugh Campbell said: “We're working closely with Bath and North East Somerset Council, Somerset Council, and Wiltshire Council, and keeping all stakeholders, including local MPS and local communities, fully informed and updated throughout the work programme.

“The A36 is closed between Limpley Stoke and Monkton Combe until spring 2025 to enable essential repair work to stabilise the southbound embankment of the carriageway and to minimise disruption during this complex repair, and to optimise traffic management and ensure effective diversion routes, an extremely robust and specific signage plan has been implemented and prominently displayed at key locations to keep drivers clearly informed.

“We’re holding frequent reviews with the local authorities on the far-reaching signage and the mitigations required to reduce rat running and we have marshals in place at both the northbound and southbound closure points to assist with residents and traffic management.

“We thank people for their patience while we carry out this essential work and in the meantime we advise drivers to plan their journeys, stick to the signed diversion routes and to avoid following SatNavs through unsuitable and narrow local roads.”

So far, National Highways has put more than 300 signs for the A36 closure on all major routes, some as far afield as the M4 motorway and Keynsham near Bristol, which they believe to be sufficient.

Mr Mathew told the parish council there is very little that National Highways can do to influence Google Maps but will look into it.

He added: “I will ask Wiltshire Council to liaise with the police to see whether more can be done to have a presence in the village at key points and times of the day.”