NEW demands have been issued for gas works to be speeded up on Boot Hill in Weymouth amid concerns that they are behind schedule.

Weymouth and Portland transport briefholder Christine James warned that the relaying of a main should have been completed by now although Southern Gas Networks says that no finish date was ever set.

Coun James, who sits on Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, said: “While I appreciate the work has to be done, we were assured that this work would be carried out as quickly as possible.

“But it is taking longer than was expected.

“I have received a large number of comments about the roadworks and I want to assure residents I am making sure that their voices are heard.

“Dorset County Council has been monitoring the traffic and has introduced measures to increase the flows, which have made some improvement.”

Coun James said she was encouraging the highways authority, Dorset County Council, to put pressure on Southern Gas Networks.

The company began work on relaying the water main in July. Traffic has been diverted from Portland, through Wyke and Lanehouse Rocks Road with long queues building up.

Asda duty manager Adam Jolliffe said: “It is frustrating. It is inconveniencing people getting to the shop as well as others in town.”

Wyke Regis garage owner Nigel Dowsett said: “It’s horrendous. It takes an hour to get to the Granby.”

Mike Maber, of Goldcroft Avenue, Weymouth, said that some people said that they had driven past and not seen working going on.

He added: “Surely more men could have been assigned to the job.

“It seems to have dragged on for far too long.”

A Dorset County Council spokesperson for the Weymouth Transport Package said: “We are continually working with Southern Gas Networks to align our programmes for the best use of the road space.

“We are working together to ensure that work on Boot Hill remains on time, so that the road can open up to two-way traffic by the end of November.

“The junction improvement work has started at the bottom of Boot Hill and it will follow the gas works up the road, as they move towards Rodwell Avenue.”

Southern Gas Networks insisted that work was on track and that no finish date had ever been set.

A spokesman said that the company had brought forward scheduled works in the town to be carried out before the council’s Olympic road improvements.

A spokesman said: “We are working in conjunction with Dorset County Council and its transport package to finish the roads in time for the Olympics. We are scheduling this around them.”

Southern Gas Networks also said that the nature of work may have meant people not seeing as much activity.

The spokesman said that the company now doesn’t always need to dig entire trenches for pipes as new, plastic pipes can be feed through holes.