Storm Darragh kept Devon County Council’s highway teams busy throughout the weekend, as they responded to hundreds of issues on Devon’s roads caused by severe winds.

Despite the challenging conditions, the county’s road network is already largely back to normal, and road users have been thanked for playing their part by heeding travel advice.

During the period covered by the Met Office’s weather warnings, Devon’s Network Operations Control Centre received more than 680 calls, with more than 300 of those relating to tree issues.

The highest wind gust recorded over the weekend was 78mph at Taw Bridge.

As a safety precaution, the A361 Taw Bridge and A39 Torridge Bridge were both closed at midnight on Friday night as planned and were re-opened on Sunday morning. Devon’s Household Waste Recycling Centres were also closed on Saturday.

Although wind speeds dropped by Sunday afternoon, calls to the control centre continued as road users came across issues. A large share of the calls were from people reporting roads that were blocked or partially blocked by trees or debris from buildings.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said:

“Storm Darragh has been extremely destructive and I’d say it was one of the most challenging storms I can recall during my 32 years with the County Council. Our teams deserve huge credit for their hard work and commitment over the weekend. Everyone has gone the extra mile and I would like to express my thanks to all of our teams on the ground, many working in appalling conditions. Our control centre team reported that roads were noticeably quieter on Saturday, so thank you to everyone who followed the advice and stayed at home where possible. Thank goodness we’re seeing an improving picture around the county and hopefully we can all get back to some sort of normality.”

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Cabinet Member for Highway Management

A number of roads were affected over the weekend with trees down and other debris, but are now cleared. These included:

A396 Tiverton side of Bolham Roundabout
A386 at Northam, Merton and Tavistock
B3204 Devon Road, Salcombe
B3137 Palmers Bridge, Withleigh to Cruwys Morchard
A383 near Dartmoor Halfway Inn.
B3165 Hawkchurch
A3124 Torrington to Beaford
A39 Watersmeet Road and Countisbury Hill, Lynmouth.

Disruptions were also caused by other issues such as unsafe signage on a building on New North Road in Exeter, which forced the road to be closed, and the Strand in Exmouth was closed due to an unsafe roof at Exmouth Indoor Market.

Although major routes are clear, it’s expected that issues which have not yet been reported may still come through over the next few days.