As works continue on the A338/Blackwater junction improvements, a series of overnight lane closures will be in place up until 10 March 2019.
The closures are required to carry out temporary surfacing works and to switch the traffic management layout to the final phase.
From Monday 25 February the southbound lanes will be closed from 8pm to 6am every night for temporary surfacing works.
Then from Friday 1 March until Sunday 3 March both the southbound and northbound lanes will be closed to change the traffic management layout and install a contraflow which will be operational from the morning of Sunday 3 March.
A further week of overnight southbound lane closures will be in place from Monday 4 March to complete the temporary surfacing works.
Larry Austin, Service Director, Environment at Bournemouth Borough Council, said: “We’ve now reached the stage where we’re starting works to widen the northbound carriageway to provide an improved off slip to the Blackwater West junction. To enable us to lengthen the slip road, the carriageway needs to be widened in both the verge and central reservation. We’ll also be reinforcing the Blackwater Bridge piers and mirroring the concrete barrier works carried out around the southbound side of the bridge.
“So that we can maintain two lanes of traffic northbound, a contraflow has been installed on the southbound carriageway with a dedicated northbound lane and a single southbound lane. To ease traffic merging on the Blackwater on-slip, we can extend the merge lane over the Stour and have a longer lead-in to the lane closure southbound. This arrangement will remain in place until we near the end of the works in June 2019.
“We would encourage drivers to plan ahead, continue to allow extra time for their journeys especially during peak periods and play close attention to the signage.”
These improvements form part of the £45.2million investment in Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership’s Bournemouth International Growth (BIG) Programme, aimed at facilitating better access into and around Bournemouth Airport, unlocking employment land and stimulating economic growth.