Gore Clump safety scheme

Work is proposed to improve the road layout in the Gore Clump junction area.

Gore Clump is just off the C13 between Blandford and Shaftesbury and is next to the Compton Abbas Airfield.

The location has two junctions, Boundary Road northern arm adjacent to the airfield and Boundary Road southern arm – both of which connect with the C13.

Collision data

Gore Clump has previously been identified as an injury collision cluster site. In June 2018 this stretch of roads speed limit was reduced from 60mph to 40mph. However, comparing data before and after the speed limit reduction shows very little improvement.

Collisions between 7 June 2014 and 6 June 2018:

• 1 fatal
• 3 serious
• 2 slight

Collisions between 7 June 2018 and 6 June 2022:

• 0 fatal
• 4 serious
• 1 slight

Analysis of the collision data – including vehicles involved, direction of travel, vehicle movements, time of day and weather conditions – has identified the junction layout as a contributory factor.

Design work for a new layout

Due to the sensitivity of the landscape, as well as its ecological significance, our engineers have been developing an unintrusive layout design while still achieving significant safety benefits. 

Gore Clump proposed new layout.

This combines vehicle movement restrictions with lining and signing improvements:

• one-way northern arm (no entry from Boundary Road) 
• no right-turn into northern arm
• no right-turn from southern arm onto C13 for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes 
• double white lines to reduce inappropriate overtaking
• ‘slows’ & rumbles to improve awareness of the junction
• Southern arm junction markings to ‘square up’ junction
• Boundary Road junction markings to reduce northern arm vehicle speeds; northern arm to give way and priority for southern arm
• speed gateways to emphasise 40mph speed limit
• review of existing road signs and introduction of new warning signs 
• vegetation clearance to enhance visibility at southern arm

These improvements will be monitored for effectiveness and built-upon as necessary in the future to ensure our aim of improving safety is met.

Construction

Work to implement the safety scheme will start on Monday 24 September and be complete by Friday 19 December.

To ensure the safety of both the public and the workforce, three-way temporary traffic signals will be in operation to control traffic on the C13 and Boundary Road throughout the work.

Daytime road closures (9:30am to 3:30pm) will be used to close the northern and southern arms of the junction, with one arm remaining open while the other is closed for works.

Towards the end of the work, night time closures will be used for carriageway surfacing on the C13 and Boundary Road.

More detail about the dates of the closures will be provided as it becomes available.