End Of Spur Road Delays
16 February 2010, 13:16 | Updated: 16 February 2010, 13:28
The last phase of verge clearance on A338 Bournemouth Spur Road will be carried out at night, avoiding any further disruption to rush-hour traffic.
A section of the southbound Spur Road is currently restricted to one lane near the Blackwater Junction to enable verge clearance to be carried out. This section will be completed on the evening of Tuesday 16 February, when traffic cones will be removed and 24-hour lane restrictions for the Spur Road advance works will end.
Following the evening rush-hour on Wednesday 17 February, a single lane restriction will be put in place at the northern end of the southbound carriageway adjoining the Ashley Heath roundabout and extending for 1.25 miles. All approaches to the roundabout – the A31 northbound slip road, A31 southbound slip road, Horton Road, and the roundabout itself – will be restricted to one lane while night working is carried out. All cones will be removed before morning rush hours.
Work on this, the final section of verge to be cleared ahead of the scheduled start of the main Spur Road refurbishment scheme in the autumn, requires permission from the Highways Agency for the county council to place traffic management on the A31 trunk road, which has now been received.
As the vegetation on this section is not as dense as other areas where it was necessary to use heavy cutting equipment that can only be used during daylight hours, it is sufficiently safe for the workforce to carry out the work overnight. The verge clearance work is on course to be completed within two weeks.
At the same time, a single-lane restriction will be in place overnight so that reptile fencing can be erected along a 5km section of the northbound Spur Road.
It was hoped that this work, which required the granting of a license from Natural England to move the most protected species of reptiles from land adjacent to the road, could be carried out without the need for traffic management. However, owing to the proximity of the work force to traffic with the fencing now needing to be placed in front of rather than behind drainage ditches, it will be necessary to close one lane while the fencing is installed. This will be done overnight to minimise disruption to traffic and will also be completed within two weeks.
Head of highways and transportation for Dorset County Council, Andy Ackerman, said:
“I am pleased that now the heavy clearance work is complete we are able to move to night-time working. This will avoid causing further disruption to commuters while enabling us to complete these preparatory works on time.”