IF you were thinking of heading up the M5 on Sunday (july 24), you might like to change your plans.

National Grid is delivering new equipment to Iron Acton substation on a large, slow-moving vehicle with a police escort.

The company is warning it may cause disruption on the road network.

Somerset County Gazette:

The transformer, a piece of equipment needed to change the voltage of electricity before it’s transmitted through the power network, will begin its journey from Avonmouth Port in Bristol at 8am.

It will travel to Iron Acton substation, where the estimated time of arrival is between 2.30pm and 3pm.

The heavy haulage lorry will be 55 metres long by five metres wide and weigh 235 tonnes.

Due to the size and weight, the lorry will travel between 10 and 15 miles per hour.

A police escort and special haulage team will accompany the lorry to ensure the safety of the public and the National Grid team.

The police escort will also be there to manage traffic and to halt traffic for a short time at certain places, such as when the lorry needs to straddle two road lanes, turn or travel along narrow roads.

Where the lorry is across both lanes of a road, oncoming traffic will be pulled over by the police escort and held until the lorry has safely passed.

Due to the size of the lorry, it must take an indirect route to Iron Acton substation to avoid hazards, such as weak bridges and narrow turning points.

The lorry will leave Avonmouth docks via the M49.

It will then head east on the M4 before joining the M5 northbound.

The lorry then travels to Junction 13 before returning southbound, where it will exit onto the B4509 at Junction 14.

Finally, the lorry passes through the villages of Cromhall, Bagstone and Rangeworthy, and then follows the B4059 until it reaches Latteridge village, close to its final destination.

Project Engineer at National Grid, Tom Penn, said: “We’ve worked closely with our delivery partners, Allelys Heavy Haulage Ltd, to plan a safe delivery route and to keep disruption to a minimum.

"But there are likely to be some delays on the Sunday morning on the motorway and on smaller, narrow roads close to the substation.

“I’d like to thank people for their patience in advance of our work. By letting people know in advance, we hope that people will be able to plan their journeys on July 24 to avoid any disruption."