Drivers through the Upton
area of Poole are being advised to allow extra
time for their journeys while highway maintenance is carried out on the A35
Upton Bypass.
In total, Dorset County Council will be working on the
dual carriageway between Bakers Arms Roundabout and the Upton Junction for 15
weeks.
For five weeks, between 5 November and 7 December, one
lane will be closed in the eastbound direction (towards Poole )
while bridge strengthening work, drainage improvements and barrier repairs are
carried out.
The eastbound carriageway will also be closed overnight
during two of these weeks, from 5 November to 17 November, between 7pm and 6am
for resurfacing. Traffic will be diverted via Dorchester Road Poole Road
Dorset Highways operations manager Andrew Martin said: “Policemans Lane
Bridge
“There are three sets of support columns - eastbound,
westbound and central - and it will take five weeks for each set of columns to
be strengthened with reinforced concrete.
“This is vital safety work and it cannot be completed
any quicker. We are making the most of the traffic management needed and
undertaking a variety of highway works at the same time.”
Doing all of this work at the same time will save around
three weeks of extra traffic management, which had previously been programmed
for 2013.
Cabinet member for transport Peter Finney said: “Highway
work on roads as busy as the Upton Bypass will inevitably lead to delays, so
we’re advising residents to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys.
“We take the responsibility of keeping our road network
safe very seriously, and there is no alternative way of carrying out these
improvements and repairs.”
The second phase of work, on the westbound carriageway
and central reservation, will be carried out over ten weeks in the New Year
between 14 January and 22 March.
For more information about the work visit
www.dorsetforyou.com/upton-bypass-works
Follow @dorsetforyou on twitter to keep updated on the
progress of the work.
