THERE is good news for motorists that use the A377 and A3072 through Copplestone after traffic lights put in place for road works were this afternoon, Friday, August 7, removed for the weekend.

Contractors M Group have been carrying out drainage works on behalf of Devon County Council with four-way traffic lights operating for the last week.

There have been some long traffic queues at times with waits of up to 40 minutes reported to get through.

Many motorists have sought alternative routes.

Some unscheduled closures of the area around Sunnymead to the A377 and Bewsley Hill have caused some concerns for local residents.

Copplestone Parish Council has been keeping local residents informed.

It recently said: “These works are crucial, we have had many properties flooded along the A377 due to drainage issues, some people had their properties flooded twice in a year.

“It has taken a long time to get this problem investigated by Highways, who eventually put CCTV cameras down to see what was going on.

“Clearly they have found a problem, and major works are being carried out on the drainage, which we hope will resolve the issue and prevent future flooding into peoples homes.

“Please have some patience, think about why these works are being done. The traffic lights will take a while to change because they are 4 way.”

Devon Highways recently said: “We are keen to resolve the drainage issues at this location as quickly as possible and recognised from the outset that the northbound closure would inevitably have an impact.

“The second phase of the works will take place on the southbound carriageway, where maintaining access between Copplestone and the A377 should be considerably easier.”

The roadworks are set to re-start on Monday morning.