Next week, 3rd September 2018, will see the start of the next phase of the Spur Road improvements. Although this work may cause some delays, especially around peak times in the Christchurch and Cooper Dean/Iford areas, the works when finished, should then result in a much safer entry slip for traffic joining the Spur Road from Christchurch at Blackwater.
As part of these ongoing highway improvement works to the A338 and B3073 at Blackwater Junction, Dorset Highways and Hanson Contracting are due to start work on the A338 auxiliary lane on 3 September 2018. The works will see the southbound slip lane being extended as a third lane under the B3073 overbridge and over the River Stour Bridge. The extra lane will continue for approximately 700m to give additional space for traffic to safely merge back into 2 lanes. To accommodate the extra lane the carriageway will be widened into both the verge and central reserve and the bridge piers on the B3073 overbridge will also be given additional protection.
To enable these works to be undertaken there will be lane closures on the southbound carriageway. The southbound carriageway will be reduced to just one lane from just north of the Blackwater Junction towards the Cooper Dean Roundabout. There will be a temporary 40mph speed limit in place during the works.
The northbound carriageway lane widths will be reduced slightly but 2 lanes will remain. The scheme will also include improvements to the northbound slip off. Improvements are also planned for the Blackwater West Junction on the B3073. Whilst some advance works off the carriageway are planned for the autumn, the main works won’t start until next year.
Gary Powell, Head of Traffic Management at Bournemouth Council said:
“We welcome the start of Dorset LEP funded improvements, which get underway in September. They will greatly improve safety for traffic joining the A338”.
Rob Dunford, Deputy Director of Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership said:
“We welcome the start of the next stage of the £45.2 million BIG Programme investment in road improvements at this key junction which will ease congestion and improve accessibility to the economically important region in and around Bournemouth Airport and Wessex Fields.”
The works on the A338 will continue until next June. Inevitably these works will cause some delays and drivers are advised to allow extra time for their journeys or find an alternative route. Road users are advised to sign up to the blog to stay up to date with road news.
For more information visit the A338 website.