A seemingly ordinary door on the M5 has sparked a flurry of speculation and debate among Somerset locals. The mysterious door, located on the entrance to a wall on the M5 Northbound near the Wynhol Viaduct in Clevedon, was the subject of intense discussion after an image of it was shared in SomersetLive’s M5 traffic and travel group.
Chris Panter, who posted the question, said: “When I travel up the M5 with one of my passengers, he is obsessed with a door that is located here. He’s convinced it could be the entrance to a complete new world, a men in black type location. I reckon it’s a storage cupboard. Does anyone know? ” The post prompted a wave of responses, with theories ranging from a portal to another world to a simple storage cupboard. One commenter suggested: “Its to check the wear of the bridge so I was told.”
Another added: “Something to do with inspections of the structure I believe”, while a third chimed in with: “Inspection hole to see if there’s any cracks in the bridge structure.”
Another said: “They paint it grey undercoat and also don’t distract the drivers from taking there eyes off the road and grey is more easy to paint over other than black. Hope the above helps”, reports Somerset Live.
“My dad was a civil engineer. I’ve never been in there myself but when asked that’s the answer he gave . But a magic door sound more impressive”.
One person meanwhile wanted to know the answer to a different mystery, saying: “I don’t know about the door but when they gonna choose a grey to paint it?”
Another said: “Your on the M5 but that door takes you to the M9 3/4s”. While another said: “Probably another area for speed cameras lol,” while a fourth said: “Made a trip up there to see if it was open but got scared off by a ‘big cat’. Never returned! ” Another added: “There’s a troll who lives in there.”
So obviously, we had to find out exactly what it was, so we asked National Highways. In response, a spokesperson said: “The entrance is an access point to the end chambers of the bridge, in which National Highways carries out structural maintenance and inspections.”
So there we have it. The mystery is solved – and in the dullest way possible.
