Dorchester bypass floods

It emerged at the weekend shortly after the first sign of any substantial rain for the first time in almost a month.

This time there were no cones put out to warn drivers of the presence of a small lake as they exited the busy road at the Max Gate junction.

During previous floods the slip road was coned to avoid drivers suddenly running into the water at speed.

Highways Agency staff are supposed to have cleared drains in the area earlier in the year when they tackled another flood spot on the bypass, half a mile further west towards the Weymouth Avenue roundabout, another low area in the road.

Dorchester town councillors have been calling for the road to be sorted out for almost three years.

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The Highways Agency site say they are committed to rectifying the problem and will re-visit the site if the problem is seen to be more than just a short-term difficulty caused by heavy rainfall.

At a meeting earlier this year town planning and environment committee chairman Cllr Robin Potter described the situation as ‘ridiculous.’

Another councillor, Stella Jones, who lives near the junction, said there has been occasions when the bypass has been completely closed because of floodwater, forcing through traffic into the town centre.

“This has been going on for years and years. Highways England need to get on and get it sorted,” she said.

Cllr Fiona Kent-Ledger claims the problem is because the road was built on a flood plain without proper flood relief measures being put in place at the time and has called for a look at all the problem areas on the road at the same time – rather than deal with each individually.