RESURFACING work on a busy A-road in Dorset which has been plagued by potholes is set to begin next month. 

Starting from Monday, March 6, six miles of the A35 and the adjoining A30 in Devon will be completely resurfaced by National Highways.

On the A35, resurfacing and patch repair work, subject to weather conditions, will run over three weeks, starting in neighbouring Devon.

The works form part of a £350,000 National Highways investment and will begin in west Dorset from the week starting Monday, March 20.

This will be on the eastbound and westbound sections of the Charmouth to Morecombelake dual carriageway, and Chideock to Miles Cross.

Works will then move further east to Shipton Gorge and Vinney Cross from the week commencing Monday, March 27, as well as Martinstown to the Monkey's Jump roundabout near Dorchester.

Resurfacing will take place largely under overnight closures to minimise disruption, and clearly signed diversion routes will be in place.

Further safety measures are also planned between Charmouth and Yellowham Hill in west Dorset, as well as a new Stadium roundabout cycling/pedestrian crossing in Weymouth Road, Dorchester and drainage scheme at Kingston Russell.  

The resurfacing work follows a winter programme of maintenance investment along the routes.

National Highways contractors Connect Roads says it has increased inspections after a freezing winter took its toll on the roads.

As part of the winter work, 22 lane miles of carriageway were resurfaced, retextured or patched, in addition to drainage checks and gully clearance and 357 tonnes of grit were applied. 

The A35 has previously been labelled 'appalling' by motorists as potholes were littered across some of the busy route. 

Recent work has also seen a new drainage scheme at the Monkey’s Jump roundabout and a similar drainage system at Max Gate junction near Dorchester. 

Andrew Gale, south west service manager for National Highways, said: “The mixture of adverse weather over this winter has presented a challenge not only on the A35 but across the region, and we’ve worked hard to maintain safety across our network.

“We implemented an enhance package of maintenance work last year, we’ve continued that investment this winter and, working with our local authority partners and our police partners, we will continue to address evidenced safety concerns.

“We’ll continue to monitor and inspect the A35 and A30 as part of ongoing maintenance work, but we’ve also delivered a number of recent schemes along the route and there’s also a number of schemes in the pipeline where further improvements are required.”