A35 near Dorchester to shut overnight for drainage work
Work is due to start tonight on preventing flooding at Max Gate
Last updated 4th Jan 2022
National Highways will start a scheme today to ease flooding issues and improve safety for motorists in Dorset.
Following a recently completed drainage scheme at the Monkey’s Jump roundabout near Dorchester, the company will be start working to improve drainage at the Max Gate junction further along the A35.
Improvements at the Monkey’s Jump roundabout have addressed flooding issues and National Highways, the company responsible for England’s major A roads and motorways, also completed a resurfacing scheme on the A35 at Stinsford earlier this year.
Preparation work, as part of the ÂŁ500,000 Max Gate drainage scheme, started last month, with a soakaway drain being installed along the route.
Overnight closure of the A35
And further highways work will continue in January, necessitating overnight closures of the A35, 8pm to 6am, Monday to Friday only, between the Stinsford and Stadium roundabouts from today 4 January to 17 January. The road will be open throughout the day, with diversion routes in place via Dorchester for overnight traffic.
Between 18 January and 21 January, two-way traffic signals will be in place on the A35 at the Max Gate junction together with a full closure of the A352 slip, with a diversion in place via Alington Avenue, Dorchester. The A352 slip road will also be closed between 24 January and 3 February, with three-way traffic signals in place between 3 February and 10 February, with clearly signed diversions in place.
National Highways project manager Andrew Berry said:
“Motorists will have seen the benefits of the Monkey’s Jump scheme and we are looking forward to bringing similar safety improvements to the A35 at the Max Gate junction.
“We appreciate roadworks can be frustrating and we’d like to thank motorists in advance for their patience while this essential repair work takes place.
“We will make every effort to ensure that the impact on the local community is kept to an absolute minimum, and as the scheme progresses we'll communicate any changes via roadside signage and direct communication with local communities.”
More information
Anyone wanting further information about the work can contact National Highways’ 24/7 Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 or email info@highwaysengland.co.uk.
For information on all National Highways’ planned closures in the South West follow the Twitter feed at @HighwaysSWEST.