Residents of one of the busiest roads in Weymouth have told of their ‘never-ending nightmare’ after roadworks and temporary traffic lights have returned.
Works on Lanehouse Rocks Road to provide a new road junction and infrastructure for the Curtis Fields housing development have returned after a two-week absence, with residents telling the Echo they have ‘lost their patience’ after months of delays.
The temporary traffic lights have caused huge delays for motorists.
On January 30, 2023, it was announced that 14 weeks of roadworks were set to start on the road, one of two main routes to Portland, lasting until April 28.
However this work overran into May, although there were breaks during school holidays.
The current works, which started on Thursday, June 8, will continue adding a new road junction.
The traffic lights are due to be removed by this weekend, Dorset Council says, and from Monday will be replaced with stop/go boards while ‘white lining works’ are carried out.
Neil, a resident of Lanehouse Rocks Road, said: “It has been an absolute nightmare and it has gone on for months now. I did not want to see them back ever.
“It has been really, really horrible, it is impossible to even park where we live and the queues at night time have been horrendous.
“If I wasn’t renting and I owned the house, I would have sold the house and gone, that is how I feel now.”
While works are being completed, a three-way traffic light system is in place to regulate the traffic flow of vehicles on the route.
The road has been described as “the busiest” in Weymouth and is the main route for heavy goods to be transported to Portland.
One resident said: “I work in Poole and Blandford and it takes me as long to get from Poole to Weymouth as it does from the Granby estate to my house some days.
“I have been waiting on my road for 45 minutes before, it is inconveniencing hundreds of people.
“At what point do you just say ‘enough is enough’.”
The works are now six weeks overdue, having been scheduled for 14 weeks initially, meaning the roadworks have been ongoing for nearly five months now.
Lanehouse resident Brian Lucas said: “It has been absolute hell, we are sick to the teeth of it.
“We have had months of hell here, I can’t park outside my house at the moment because of the traffic lights.
“This is one of, if not the busiest road in Weymouth, we accept that when we buy a house here, but why it has all taken so long I really do not know.
“It is now months overdue in being completed. And because of some of the holes that have been dug, every time those massive lorries go by to get the animal feed from Portland Port, our houses actually shake.”
A spokesperson for Betterment Properties said: “The works outside 93 Lanehouse Rocks Road have been in planning for over two years and by completion will have taken 20 weeks to complete.
“Our Contractors R&W Langley have been fantastic and we are extremely happy with the quality of the work produced.
“The creation of a new junction is by no means a simple project and we have worked in close collaboration with utility providers to meet tight deadlines.
“We have also had to create large extents of surface water and foul water sewers to establish a connection to our new housing scheme.
“Letters have been issued to local businesses and residents to keep them updated however the works have been delayed beyond the original construction phase program.
“The delays were largely due to closing the operation down during school holiday periods to help alleviate traffic during these periods.”
A Dorset Council spokesperson said: “Resurfacing works will take place week commencing June 12 from 7.30am to 7pm (materials permitting), with manually controlled traffic signals in operation 7am to 7pm. All traffic management will be removed for the weekend of 17/18 June. As there will be no road markings at this time, ‘no road marking’ and ‘no waiting’ signs will be situated at the appropriate places to warn motorists and prevent obstruction.
“From June 19, white lining works will be undertaken, with the appropriate traffic management, this will be either stop/go boards or signals.
“This programme completes the highways work.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel