Road closures as Weymouth rail track removal starts next month
Work to remove hazardous and disused rail tracks in Weymouth begins next month.
Work to removed disused rail tracks, costing £1.1 millon, in Weymouth will being in October.
Dorset Council says the tracks are a danger to cyclists and motorcyclists and the authority has been given the funding by the Department for Transport for the work.
A section of Kings Street between the Esso garage and Kings Junction will be closed for phase one of the plans from 5th October for three days.
Following that, Commercial Road will be closed in sections in a rolling programme to minimise disruption.
Road closures will be in place 24-hours-a-day and road users are being asked to plan their routes carefully.
The second phase of the work, which includes removing the rails along Custom House Quay is expected to begin in early 2021.
Cllr Ray Bryan, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said:
"There is no getting away from the fact that this scheme will cause disruption due to its location and the scale of the works. We hope to minimise inconvenience by keeping open as much access as possible into the town to ensure businesses can continue to operate.
"The route will be closed a section at a time, between junctions wherever possible, and move in a 'rolling' fashion so that one section of road is reopened as another is closed.
"As the rails are in the middle of the road, the only way to remove them safely is with a road closure in place. Where needed, we'll put in supporting temporary traffic measures on nearby roads for re-routed vehicles."
A small section of Custom House Quay, between The Esplanade and South Parade, will also be closed overnight from 8pm to 6am, from 5 October to 10 October. Engineers will be carrying out a drainage investigation and ground penetrating radar survey, which will help complete design work for the road reinstatement after the track removal in this area in 2021.Work to removed disused rail tracks, costing £1.1 millon, in Weymouth will being in October.
You can find more information about the roadworks on the Council's website.