A338 Spur Road reconstruction

A338 Spur Road reconstruction

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Zeds

Original Poster:

3,140 posts

236 months

Wednesday 8th July 2015
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"..At Dorset HAUC today, Bournemouth Highway Manager (Martin Dover) announced some major works planned for the A338 Spur Road in Bournemouth. This road is due for complete reconstruction, with severe restrictions and traffic-management being imposed from 6th September 2015 to 31st May 2016.
In light of this major disruption, Martin is asking that all other main routes in-&-out of Bournemouth are kept clear of planned works for the duration of their scheme. If you have any works planned for this area, pl.."

Zeds

Original Poster:

3,140 posts

236 months

Wednesday 8th July 2015
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http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/11641702.Fiv...

A £22MILLION scheme to rebuild Dorset’s busiest road will begin in September 2015.

Dorset County Council said the major project on Bournemouth’s Spur Road will reconstruct the five-and-a-half-mile stretch of road between the Ashley Heath roundabout and Blackwater Junction at Hurn.

It comes just days after it was revealed the A31 at Ringwood would be widened to three lanes as part of the £15bn Department for Transport road scheme.

Work on the major highway will include replacing and upgrading the safety barrier to concrete, improving drainage to solve flood problems, making the carriage-way width fit with current standards, renewing road signs and carrying out maintenance and protection to bridges.


The key scheme has been made possible following a £66million Growth Deal between Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (DLEP) and the Government earlier this year.

Initially it was thought work to rebuild the road would start in the spring.

But Dorset County Council confirmed it will be September when the major maintenance scheme begins.

Cabinet member for environment and the economy, Cllr Peter Finney, said details were still being discussed but the work may continue until the spring of 2016.

Councillor Peter Finney, cabinet member for environment and the economy, said: “This money really will be a lifeline for business development and growth in Dorset.

The rate of deterioration of the Spur Road has overtaken the rate at which we can ‘patch it up’.

“This funding will enable us to completely reconstruct the roadand bring it up to modern dual carriageway standards.

“To try and complete the work as quickly as possible, we will be working 24 hours a day, six days a week with one day off to allow for a shift change. We will also be reusing as much material from the site as possible – this will reduce the number of lorries and the amount of diesel being used, helping the carbon footprint of this scheme.”

Lorna Gibbons, director of the DLEP said: “I am delighted that the DLEP was successful in bidding for these much needed improvements. This will unlock jobs and employment sites. This is a very important programme of activity for Dorset.”


Cllr Finney also said average speed cameras could be used to reduce the speed limit to “quite a low level to ensure the safety of everybody”.

It is hoped the work will reduce the need for pothole repairs, patching and other maintenance and lower traffic noise levels.

The £66million Growth Fund also includes improvements at Chapel Gate, Hurn roundabout and Blackwater interchange, as well as Bear Cross roundabout, A338 widening from Cooper Dean to Blackwater, Longham mini-roundabout and Mountbatten junctions.

The A338: a factfile

The A338 Bournemouth Spur Road carries nearly 60,000 vehicles per day, of which 3.7 per cent – 2,200 vehicles – are HGVs.
It was built in the late 1960s, and the structure of the road is failing.
Works to repair the carriageway over the years have only been short-term.

The stretch was due a major makeover in the autumn of 2010 but the government pulled the plug on funding at the last minute.
By then £1million had already been spent on preparatory work, including six months’ of clearing verges and removing rare sand lizards.At the time the council considered ploughing ahead with the scheme using loans and grants but decided it was impossible due to budget cuts.

T40ORA

5,177 posts

218 months

Wednesday 8th July 2015
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You going to be working on this? Local job for local people?

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Wednesday 8th July 2015
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Can't wait for this! 90% of my commute is on the A338 and it's sure to be a nightmare when it happens!

Johnnytheboy

24,498 posts

185 months

Wednesday 8th July 2015
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So it's basically just going to be the same afterwards...

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Wednesday 8th July 2015
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Anyone hazard a guess at the chances of it being done properly, first time?? You can see what will appear in a years time: another patchwork project that ran out of money because the contractors knew how to twist the system. Every year it's the same. Projects go up in the autumn with plan to finish in March. Budget collapses and it drifts into the new tax / budget year and the cost and disruption grows. No other country can manage roads and budgets like we do. A prime example is the Richmond Hill project that was recently finished. How long does it take to lay a road like that? Christ!!

I went to Italy 2 years ago and on one morning we drove Lake Garda north to south. On the way we passed a large construction team and we cursed as we expected to be met with huge traffic issues on the return trip. That afternoon we headed back north and to our surprise both sides of a 3 mile stretch of road had been completely turned around and no road works were to be seen. How did they do it? Easy, because they aren't British:

No huge distances of cones and lights for no good reason. Just cones and management around the immediate site.
One large road ripper dragging up the old surface with trucks behind to take away the debris.
Another ripper behind that taking away the underlayer. And then another couple of trucks for debris.
Behind that is a lorry laying new substrate.
Then after that another massive vehicle is laying a new surface.
Behind that are a couple of rollers.

They do one complete side of the road before turning round and doing the other so you don't get loads of patches. When it was all laid a paint crew finished off with fresh lines and a general sweep up. And the finish was perfect, unlike our shower of st UK task force who couldn't fill a jobseekers form let alone a pothole.

Their road may not last 50 years like ours are forced to but surely spending a day, or maybe a week on a quicker, simpler job is better and cheaper than spending 6 months to a year and millions of pounds to do something that we know will be substandard anyway! I bet that Italian road lasts 10yrs+.

catfood12

1,410 posts

141 months

Wednesday 8th July 2015
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But they're keeping as two lanes, citing some conservation bks. If the woodland creatures survived the A338 being built in the first place, they'll survive the extra lane being dug. Surely this should be made into three lanes up to Blackwater ? What ever happened to the proposed south west slip onto Castle Lane behind the hospital plan ? Surely three lanes and something new at the Causeway/Matchams Lane bit would help airport access too.

It will be a nightmare winter heading out of Bournemouth through this.

Alucidnation

16,810 posts

169 months

Sunday 12th July 2015
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Christ, they are rebuilding a worn out and a very busy road and widening it to current standards, and all people do is moan about it.

This has been long overdue, and I welcome it.

You can keep up to date by signing up to the newletter, which, as it happens, has been quite regular..


http://news.dorsetforyou.com/bournemouth-spur-road...




Just wait until they start with the A31 Ringwood project. That will really give you something to mash your gums at.

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/11635782.A31...

bmthnick1981

5,310 posts

215 months

Sunday 12th July 2015
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I'm not looking forward to the work being done but am looking forward to see what the finished product is like. Worry is is it a missed opportunity? 3 lanes from Ashley Heath to black water would make sense especially if a31 is going to become 3 lanes. New junctions are needed as well, airport hospital and foot ball club. Let's see...

bmthnick1981

5,310 posts

215 months

Sunday 12th July 2015
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I'm not looking forward to the work being done but am looking forward to see what the finished product is like. Worry is is it a missed opportunity? 3 lanes from Ashley Heath to black water would make sense especially if a31 is going to become 3 lanes. New junctions are needed as well, airport hospital and foot ball club. Let's see...

Alucidnation

16,810 posts

169 months

Sunday 12th July 2015
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I think the three lane option is a good one, however, this would just cause more of a bottleneck further down.

There is/was talk of making it 3 lanes northbound between cooper dean and backwater and alsoedesigning that junction but this may have been postponed of scrapped.

Also I think they may be introducing average speed cameras on the finished road.

I know that they will be in force during the works, set at 40mph.

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Sunday 12th July 2015
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Nobody is moaning about it. I'm just disappointed a year in advance of when I'll be disappointed by the end product. It'll be another waste of money come far too late. The town is dying because of the same old attitudes. Our council are relying on a reputation of grandeur that dates back some 50 years but died off probably 5 to 10 years ago. Bournemouth needed to be kept up to date and in good repair but has been left to rot like every other town that's had a similar attraction.

Have you been down the high street lately? Every other doorway has a tramp in it. Every other shop is either closed or is a pop-up tat / gimmick shop. 90% of the people on the street don't speak English and don't spend money in the town. Those that do don't spend in the long standing stores as they can get it cheaper in a pop up or cultural outlet that doesn't look after its property / frontage / doesn't pay it's fair share to the town. It's a dive and a 9 month plus road build won't fix that as it'll kill the town off due to disruption / money in the wrong areas.

So poor is Bournemouth's high street now that I'm looking at moving out of there. We've had our shop in town for 17 years and it has always done well. We used to have a very strong private customer base on top of our trade income but over the past 2 years especially the customer has gone from being mainly 30yrs to 80yrs old indigenous population, happily paying the going rate for a good service to about half of the customers coming through the door being of Albanian, Kurdish, etc not wanting to pay the UK rate and generally looking intimidating in the process. Local people don't like coming into the shop if i've got 3 or 4 loud Albanians arguing about how much they pay at home for my product. This has gone slightly off topic at this point but this change in customer comes down to the fact that Bournemouth council have made it too easy for certain types of shop to open too close to the town centre (tanning salons, car washes. basically anywhere that money can be laundered for 6 months before closing down). And not being hard enough on those who run these places. A short but efficient road project and a tidy up of the town will maybe bring local people back. A long road project will only bring more misery and kill the remaining businesses that have stood the past years unharmed.


nick1275

1,272 posts

169 months

Sunday 12th July 2015
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After all this, it still won't stop the local fossils driving at 50mph and lane hogging

petop

2,135 posts

165 months

Tuesday 14th July 2015
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Dont worry, any improvement after its finished in speedy efficiency will be null and void with the constant mobile speed camera placed at the southbound layby coming from Ringwood!
Im not sure though further down towards Bournemouth there will be any improvement especially around the hospital area.
But comment above about Bournemouth as a whole. I see the town every 3 months or so when i return from working abroad and it is getting worse. The only improvement ive seen is the IMAX went, that made me laugh when i went past where it used to be. What a load of tosh just like the artificial reef thing at Boscombe. Wasnt it made of sand......which in the sea erodes?!?!!?

Zeds

Original Poster:

3,140 posts

236 months

Tuesday 14th July 2015
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LEE: no, not me, I'm on Wessex Water 'Grid' Pump Station build projects at the moment- current one: up hill from Pimperne.

There's even more shops being built in town centre on the NCP car park. I gotta ask, since town centre roads are already often gridlocked at the weekends in the summer, is the town centre road system going to have a complete re-desin?...otherwise how are locals/tourists going to get there?!

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Tuesday 14th July 2015
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Why build more shops when the existing ones are failing?

GT03ROB

13,207 posts

220 months

Tuesday 14th July 2015
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ecain63 said:
Why build more shops when the existing ones are failing?
Good point. Bournmouth is just not attractive to go into & we only live at the either end of the A338

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Tuesday 14th July 2015
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GT03ROB said:
ecain63 said:
Why build more shops when the existing ones are failing?
Good point. Bournmouth is just not attractive to go into & we only live at the either end of the A338
Yup! Given the choice on a weekend I'd always choose Ringwood over B'mth. And if i can't get it in Ringwood I'd go to Salisbury!.

nick1275

1,272 posts

169 months

Tuesday 14th July 2015
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It was eye opening working in the town centre from May last year to feb this year. Foreigners kicking off with each other on many occasions, plenty of people staggering around drinking booze early in the mornings most days, amongst other sights

GT03ROB

13,207 posts

220 months

Wednesday 15th July 2015
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ecain63 said:
GT03ROB said:
ecain63 said:
Why build more shops when the existing ones are failing?
Good point. Bournmouth is just not attractive to go into & we only live at the either end of the A338
Yup! Given the choice on a weekend I'd always choose Ringwood over B'mth. And if i can't get it in Ringwood I'd go to Salisbury!.
Not tried Salisbury. Ringwood or Southampton (West Quays) for me.

I'd have thought Ringwood may be good for your shop Eddie or is there too much competition in the jewellery market there already?