Work is planned to refurbish the signalised junction of Portland Road with Merley Road and Langton Avenue in the Wyke Regis area of Weymouth.
The current signals were installed as a temporary measure to aid construction traffic for the Wessex Water site off Langton Avenue (which opened in 2002).
At the moment, the signals have no provision for pedestrians. As part of the refurbishment, puffin pedestrian crossings will be provided on Merley Road, Langton Avenue and on the north arm of Portland Road, and the signal equipment will be updated to the latest technology.
This refurbishment of the junction will provide safer conditions for pedestrians and help support active travel in the area.
Junction design
To help minimise disruption to journey times while providing controlled crossing points within the new junction, the right-turn lane for southbound traffic turning into Langton Avenue will be removed from the road layout.
To provide clear visibility for the junction and new pedestrian crossings, parking restrictions on Merley Road and on Portland Road southbound lane will be slightly extended. These will be subject to statutory consultation before being implemented.
Merley Road junction improvement - new layout
Construction
The legal notices needed for parking restrictions as part scheme have been approved and we plan to start construction on Monday 13 April and aim for work to be finished by Friday 5 June.
Traffic management will be in place for the duration. We plan to control traffic with temporary signals; keeping two-way flow of traffic on Portland Road and controlling traffic on Langton Avenue. We propose to close Merley Road between Portland Road and Stoke Road as this will help minimise disruption for drivers.
We’re aware that maintenance work at Ferrybridge will be ongoing during these signal refurbishments, however, two-way lights at the bridge will have been removed ahead of the junction work starting.