IN light of many residents expressing their anger towards roadworks in Christchurch, BCP Council the work is necessary to ensure the upkeep of one of the county’s most used roads.
The eastbound A35 Christchurch bypass in Dorset has been shut from Fountain Way roundabout since Monday (October 27) and will remain closed until 6am on 10 November.
This will be followed with the closure of the westbound side at 6pm on November 10 until 6am on November 17.
But road users have said the roadworks have caused chaos for commuters and businesses.
New Stour & Avon reader Trevor Hill said: “Have the brains in charge of the organising of the chaos that’s Christchurch traffic seen what it is doing to businesses etc. No I thought not.”
And business owners have spoken to the BBC about how the road closures have turned a five minute journey into them waiting for more an hour in traffic.
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Diversion for eastbound traffic Picture: Crown Copyright
Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch (BCP) councillor Andy Hadley said he understands the inconvenience and frustration road closures cause.
“No-one enjoys them, but they are necessary to allow our teams to carry out much-needed improvements.
“I want to be clear that the roadworks are being carried out in phases – at no point will both sides of the A35 be closed; its Eastbound towards Highcliffe for two weeks and then Westbound towards Bournemouth for one week.
“We are listening and, as with all large-scale projects of this kind, constantly monitoring where improvements to the process can be made.”
He said that traffic signals have already been adjusted on Bridge Street, and the signs on the surrounding areas, to help improve traffic flow.
“We have seen illegal parking at times blocking the high street and Purewell, and we will be deploying additional wardens to manage this; as well as to prevent HGVs from disregarding the weight restrictions, ignoring the signposted diversion and attempting to access the High Street,” he added.
Diversion for westbound traffic Picture: Crown Copyright
“It’s no secret that the A35 is one of our most-used roads and that comes with frequent braking and acceleration – all of which causes stress and wear to the road surface.
“The work that we are doing will improve the resilience of the surface for years to come, reducing the need for frequent future works.
“We’re maximising the work that we do during the closure period with teams also carrying out essential repairs, safety improvement projects, gully cleaning, and clearing vegetation, to minimise the need for further disruption.
“Our team is working around the clock – day and night – to complete these works, using specialised materials that are known for their longevity.
“Unfortunately, this type of work cannot be carried out in the busy summer months and can’t usually be carried out in winter temperatures; so, the work could either be carried out now or closer to Easter.”
So why dose all road sign say work starts on 10th of November forwork on the A35 and why do the work on Stoney lane at the same time to me It don’t make sence
driving instructor- obviously can’t work !
They haven’t even got the road closure signs right,
they all say purewell roundabout closed, its stony lane roundabout thats closed .
Well..us living off Scotts Hill Lane ..Rotterdam Drive..Utrecht Court etc..just a nightmare..especially if one’s not too able bodied and relies on a car
What about the old bridges in town taking all that extra heavy traffic? Next thing you know they’ll be closing Bridge St to repair the bridges for fatigue cracks.
When I pass through any roadworks locally there are far more occasions when there is nobody working at all than when there are workmen attending. I say attending because even then most of them are standing around either just talking or having a cuppa, hands in pockets. Absolutely no sense of urgency at all while us poor drivers sit at temporary lights or, even worse, have to follow diversion signs which are usually wrong anyway. It’s absolutely infuriating
what would have been so hard about turning one side into two lanes & have a contraflow??
BCP clearly don’t have the brains to come up with a simpler plan for this chaos.