Cars can be a contentious issue in Bath and North East Somerset.

Whether it is the city centre security scheme, residents' parking zones, the clean air zone, disabled parking spaces, or the reinforcing of Cleveland Bridge, issues to do with cars always divide opinion.

But if there is one thing people can agree on, it is that nobody wants to be stuck in a traffic jam.

To help you steer clear of this bane of B&NES, here are the big road closures, temporary traffic lights, and roadworks planned across the area which you need to know about in 2023.

This is not an exhaustive list. Plans may change and new road works may be announced or have to happen at short notice.

Now – 17 January: Pixash Lane in Keynsham will be closed until January 17 while works relating to the new recycling centre are carried out.

3 – 5 January: A stop and go lollipop sign will control traffic on Bristol Road (A37) just south of Whitchurch as Bath and North East Somerset Council fill in potholes.

Meanwhile in Paulton there will be temporary traffic lights in place from 9:30am on January 3 to 3:00pm on January 5 at the end of the High Street by the junction with Bristol Road and also Winterfield Road, in the outskirts.

3 – 13 January: Roadworks to improve the Bath junction where Gay Street meets Queen's Square will resume on January 3. The work had been put on hold in November to deal with the increase in traffic while the Christmas Market was in town. Temporary traffic lights will be in place on the junction while the work is carried out.

Council cabinet member for transport Manda Rigby said: "We were pleased to have the new traffic signals operational in time for the Bath Christmas Market and the large number of visitors this brought to our city. Now we can finish the works and motorists, cyclists and pedestrians can benefit from a safer junction."

3 January – 31 May: Two roads in the centre of Bath will be closed for months while security measures are installed. York Street and a segment of Terrace Walk which goes around the "Bog Island" turning will be closed until the end of May.

4 January: There will be two-way temporary traffic lights on Wells Road (A37) just north of Chelwood Roundabout.

4 – 6 January: There will be temporary traffic lights on Weston High Street near to the Mazda garage, for some repair work being carried out by Wessex Water.

4 – 10 January: There will also be temporary traffic lights along Pennyquick, continuing when it becomes Whiteway Road and then Rush Hill.

8 January: In Saltford, two-way control traffic lights will be in place on Bath Road between 9am and 5pm while Openreach carry out some work.

Meanwhile in Bath, there will be similar traffic lights in place on Pulteney Road while Truespeed carry out some work of their own.

9 – 10 January: In Bath, the Upper Bristol Road will be closed between Marlborough Lane and Charlotte Street while the road surface is redone.

9 – 11 January: There will be a lane closure on Claverton Street in Bath as work is carried out on fibre optics infrastructure by CityFibre.

9 – 13 January: Bath's Widcombe Hill will be closed for four days while Openreach installs a new connection. The work will start at 9:30am on January 9 and the road should reopen at 3pm on January 13.

10 January: Multi-way traffic lights will be in place on the junction at the bottom of Widcombe Hill in Bath in the evening, from 7pm until 11pm.

11 January: In Bishop Sutton, there will be temporary traffic lights on Wick Road (A368) near to the town hall.

12 – 13 January: There will be multi-way temporary traffic lights in West Harptree, on the junction where The Street (A368) becomes Bath Road.

13 January: Saltford High Street will be closed while Wessex Water carry out work on a manhole cover.

14 – 15 January: Two-way traffic signals will be in place on Bath Road just outside Keynsham while Bristol Water carries out some maintenance work.

Meanwhile, multi-way traffic signals will be in place in Odd Down on Wellsway (A367) where it is joined by Banwell Road.

15 January: It's a very big day for temporary traffic lights. Two-way signals will be back on Pulteney Road in Bath while Truespeed carries out more work.

At the same time, in Bear Flat, temporary traffic lights will be in place at the junction of Oldfield Road (B3111) and Wells Road (A367) while work is carried out on a manhole cover.

In Radstock, the roundabouts where The Street and Somervale Road meet the A367 will both be controlled by temporary signals from 9:30am to 3:30pm.

In neighbouring Midsomer Norton, there will also be temporary traffic signals in the town centre. The roundabout by the Esso garage at the end of the High Street will be controlled by temporary traffic lights for the day, with the works going on from 9am to 6pm.

Finally, there will be temporary traffic lights in place on Rush Hill in Southdown while Wessex Water repairs a partially collapsed sewer opposite Culverhay Leisure Centre.

16 – 17 January: And the next day there will be more a short distance down the road while Openreach carry out some work. The road should be back to normal by 3pm on January 17.

16 – 20 January: Elsewhere in Bath, temporary traffic lights will be in place on the junction where the Upper Bristol Road meets Charlotte Street while improvements to the traffic island are carried out by the council.

16 – 26 January: Only a few days after reopening, temporary traffic lights will be back in place on Bath's Widcombe hill for ten days while work is carried out by Truespeed.

20 – 24 January:  The Lower Bristol Road at Churchill Bridge Roundabout in Bath will be closed while National Rail carry out some work.

21 – 22 January: Multi-way traffic signals will be back on Wellsway (A367) in Odd Down, where the road is joined by Banwell Road.

23 January: There will be a lane closure on Bristol Road between Newton St Loe and Bath as Bath and North East Somerset Council carries out routing cleansing work.

23 – 25 January: Wells Road (A367) by Radstock town centre will have two-way temporary traffic lights in place while Truespeed carries out maintenance work.

There will also be temporary traffic lights in place on Radstock Road on the outskirts of Midsomer Norton between 9:30am and 3:30pm.

23 – 26 January: There will be two-way traffic lights on the Lower Bristol Road as it goes though Twerton as National Rail work on the trainline. They will be in place from 10pm on 23 January till 6am on 26 January.

23 – 27 January: The crossroads on Newbridge Road (A4) in Bath, where it is met by Chelsea Road, will be controlled by temporary traffic lights while CityFibre carries out some work.

24 – 25 January: Another lane closure for Bath and North East Somerset Council's routine cleansing work, this time on the Keynsham Bypass.

There will also be a lane closure on Wellsway (A367), just south of Bear Flat This time it is due to roadworks for the council's Residential Parking Zones.

25 – 27 January: Temporary traffic lights will be in place on London Road in Bath as it goes though Camden. Work will start at 11pm on January 25 and should be completed by 5am on January 27.

26 January: Connection Road, which cuts under the railway line to connect Twerton High Street to the Lower Bristol Road will be closed overnight from 10pm to 6am for work by National Rail.

27 – 31 January: In Bath, National Rail will again close the Lower Bristol Road at Churchill Bridge Roundabout for more work on the railway line.

28 January: Urgent work will be carried out on electrical lights and signs just outside Farrington Gurney, meaning there will be temporary traffic lights set up on the A37 to the north of the village.

28 – 29 January: Multi-way traffic signals will once more be back in Odd Down where Banwell Road meets Wellsway (A367).

30 January – 3 February: Bath Road in Peasedown St John will have two-way temporary traffic lights in place while Wales & West Utilities carries out maintenance work.

1 – 7 February: There will be multi-way traffic lights in place for a week in Bath, near the bottom of Bathwick Hill near the turning onto Cleveland Walk.

3 – 4 February: The turning onto the A4 Eastbound from the London Road Roundabout by Alice Park in Bath will be closed overnight from 10pm until 6am for drainage works.

3 – 7 February: Bath's Lower Bristol Road at Churchill Bridge Roundabout will once more be closed from 7pm on February 3 until 6am on February 7 for work by National Rail.

5 February: In Walcot, temporary traffic lights will be in place at the junction of The Paragon and London Road. Multi-way control will be in place from 9:30am to 3:30pm while Openreach carry out work.

6 – 8 February: More temporary traffic lights will be in place on Fosseway (A367) just north of Clandown while Bristol Water carries out maintenance work.

8 – 10 February: There will also be some on The Street (A368) as it passes Compton Martin

7 – 10 February: A lane will be closed on Thicket Mead (A362) on the edge of Midsomer Norton. No temporary traffic lights are planned to be in place.

10 – 17 February: CityFibre are carrying out a week of works which will affect Wellsway (A367) near to the Red Lion Roundabout in Odd Down. There will be a lane closure February 10 to February 12. Then from February 13 to 17, temporary traffic lights will be in place on the road.

12 February: Temporary traffic lights will be back at the junction of The Paragon and London Road in Walcot while Openreach carry out more work. Again, the lights should be in place from 9:30am to 3:30pm.

13 February: High Littleton High Street will be closed while the council carries out work on a pedestrian crossing.

13 – 17 February: The roundabout in Weston where Lansdown Lane meets the High Street will be controlled by three-way control while a sewer renovation takes place.

There will also be multi-way control on Northmead Road (B3355) though Midsomer Norton.

16 – 17 February: Wells Road in Bath, at the Churchill Bridge Roundabout, will be closed overnight from 10pm to 6am while National Rail work carry out planned work.

19 February: Two-way control traffic lights will be in place on Bath Road in Saltford as Wales & West Utilities carry out roadworks from 8am onwards.

Meanwhile, in Southdown, there will be multi-way temporary traffic lights controlling Englishcombe Lane's junction with Whiteway Road and Rush Hill.

20 – 22 February: High Littleton High Street will be closed once again while the council carries out more pedestrian crossing work.

20 – 23 February: Pennyquick, from Newton St Loe into Twerton, will be closed from 8pm on February 20. The road should be open again from 5am on February 23.

25 – 26 February: In the centre of Radstock, Wells Road (A367) will be shut while Bristol Water carries out maintenance work.

3 – 6 April: Part of the High Street in East Harptree will be closed for a few days while the council resurfaces the road.

3 – 14 April: More temporary traffic lights — this time just in two directions — will be back on Whiteway Road, just along from the junction with Englishcombe Lane.

13 – 14 March: The Street in Ubley will be closed while a manhole is sealed by Wessex Water.

13 – 17 March: New Road will be closed just north of High Littleton for four days while the council resurfaces the road. Motorists should follow the diversion via Scrumbrum Lane.

20 – 31 March: Rush Hill in Southdown will have temporary traffic lights in place for eleven days while CityFibre carries out maintenance work.

8 May – 12 May: Part of The Shallows in Saltford, which goes under the railway as it connects Bath Road to Saltford Marina, will be closed from 10pm on May 8 until 6am on May 12 while National Rail carry out work.

8 – 13 May: The A46 will be closed in both directions between Cold Ashton Roundabout and London Road Roundabout for maintenance from 10pm to 6am five nights in a row.

10 June – 10 December: A temporary speed limit of 30mph will be in place for six months along a stretch of Bath Road (A431) just south of Swineford while road works are carried out.

15 July: A cycling event will be taking place on several roads in Chew Valley between 7am and 5pm . The Mendips Classic Cycle Event will affect the A368 from near Ubley to the other side of Bishop Sutton, and the B3114 from Chew Magna all the way past Coley. Tunbridge Road and parts of Moorledge Road and other small lanes between Chew Magna and the A368 will also be affected.

6 – 11 November: The A46 will be closed in both directions between Cold Ashton Roundabout and London Road Roundabout for maintenance from 10pm to 6am for five nights.

More roadworks will be announced as they are required. This information was collated December 21 – 23 2023.

To see up-to-date information on the council's website and a map of planned road closures, click here . You can also follow @BATHNESHighways on Twitter for live traffic updates.