There aren’t too many advantages to lockdown, but one of them is reduced traffic levels on our busy roads.

To take advantage of this, BCP Council is bringing forward essential resurfacing of Somerford Roundabout in Christchurch. The accelerated maintenance programme will take place from 7pm on Sunday 31 January until 7pm Friday 5 February, with road closures taking place as necessary during this period.

Somerford will be the first location in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area to benefit from the introduction of a hard-wearing ‘grouted asphalt’ material which combats the increased wear and tear associated with roundabouts.

The council has also arranged for the installation of an SSE fibre optic cable on Christchurch Bypass to take place at the same time, thus avoiding further disruption to the lives of local residents.

The programme will be split into two phases, with one half of the roundabout and its approaches resurfaced during each phase and one-way road closures permitting the continued use of the roundabout for certain routes. The roundabout will remain closed to traffic for a period after the completion of each section to provide sufficient time for the surfacing material to cure.

The two phases and roads affected will be as follows:

Phase 1: 7pm, Sunday 31 January to 6am, Wednesday 3 February
North side of roundabout closed
A35 Christchurch Bypass closed eastbound only; A35 Lyndhurst Rd closed southbound at roundabout; no access to A337 Highcliffe Rd; Somerford Avenue to have temporary access arrangement.

Phase 2: 7am, Wednesday 3 February to 7pm, Friday 5 February
South side of roundabout closed
A35 Christchurch Bypass closed westbound; A337 Highcliffe Road closed westbound at Hoburne roundabout; B3059 Somerford Road closed northbound on approach to roundabout; Grange Road to have temporary access arrangement.

Access to residential and business addresses, such as Sainsbury’s and Stewart’s Garden Centre, will be maintained and bus routes will be temporarily diverted: users are advised to check with providers before travelling.

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) will experience a lengthy diversion as legislation requires these to be located along major roads only. No formal diversions will be in place for local traffic due to concerns that HGVs might follow them. Instead, local drivers – those who have a ‘reasonable excuse’ for travelling – are relied upon to find their way around the closures.

Further details of the scheme are available at bcpcouncil.gov.uk/highwaymaintenance.