The cost of dealing with a massive oil spill on the A37 has been put at around £300,000, which Bath & North East Somerset Council intends to recoup from the insurers of the tanker it leaked from.
The vehicle delivering kerosene suffered a leak on Thursday 25th September, causing it to spill onto the road between Pensford and the Chelwood roundabout.
Passing vehicles spread the spill further and about 800 metres of the road was affected.
Officers from the council’s highways teams, police and fire service attended the scene, and the road had to be closed, with diversions put in place.
Oil on a road surface presents a significant safety risk as it creates slippery conditions, as well as weakening the structural integrity of the surface and its materials.
The highways teams worked around the clock and more than 6,000 square metres of highway was resurfaced – an area equivalent in size to 23 tennis courts.
The A37 was reopened on Saturday 27th September.
A report from the council’s Director of Place Management Chris Major said that despite the initial clean-up on site, a materials specialist had advised the council that the road surface had been damaged by the kerosene, and it was necessary to remove the contaminated surface and replace it.
Mr Major said: “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 reopened 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.”
Councillor Lucy Hodge, the council’s cabinet member for sustainable transport delivery, described the emergency response from the highways teams as “really impressive”.
She said: “I’d like to thank them and all the contractors that came together so quickly and worked into the night to get the road resurfaced and reopened just two days after a large oil spill.”
