A31 Dorset: Ignored/Forgotten/Ringwood Improvements

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Richardf
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by Richardf »

How is this going to fit in? Didn't think there was space for any extra road space here, that's why the layout is poor in the first place!

What it wants is the westbound carriageway including the Avon bridge, rebuilding and realigning so that it can be widened. This of course is what should have been done when the eastbound was rebuilt and widened. Would have been better as D3 here not D2+2 as built.
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andrewwoods
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by andrewwoods »

I think that the plan is to close the on-slips, leaving the A31 W to have both the existing lanes, and a new bridge and lane from the town, past the garage* and up to the roundabout. If you want the A31 towards Poole you'd have to navigate the roundabout, rather than cutting across the A338 S lanes as now. This is where a young woman was knocked off her scooter and killed a few years ago.

* that's the garage where Top Gear crashed the caravan into a bollard
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by andrewwoods »

The consultation on this scheme has also been pushed back due to the General Election

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/1 ... shed_back/
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by jackal »

The article seems to believe the consultation would've lasted only two days. They are either talking about an exhibition during the (now delayed) consultation or a pre-consultation information event.
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by jackal »

Consultation on the widening scheme has now opened. The proposed scheme is to add a third lane to the westbound carriageway between the Salisbury Road and Verwood Road junctions. The widening is to the offside (i.e. central reservation) and will require bridge widening. The onslip from West Street will also be closed. Scheme cost is £12m-£13.5m. It seems like a very sensible improvement.

https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.co ... provement/
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RichardA35
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by RichardA35 »

jackal wrote:Consultation on the widening scheme has now opened. The proposed scheme is to add a third lane to the westbound carriageway between the Salisbury Road and Verwood Road junctions. The widening is to the offside (i.e. central reservation) and will require bridge widening. The onslip from West Street will also be closed. Scheme cost is £12m-£13.5m. It seems like a very sensible improvement.

https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.co ... provement/
Yes looks very sensible and will hopefully sort out lane assignment earlier than now going over the junction as Bournemouth traffic will have to make a move to the left after the merge rather than the free for all "mad dash and weave" that ensues currently up the hill to Ashley Heath.

Wouldn't be an HE consultation without a chuckle though
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by J6onM27 »

It is a no brainer. Even yesterday if you don't get through Ringwood before lunchtime then the queues build. When I returned towards Southampton at teatime the queue was stretching way past Picket Post.
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by wrinkly »

Is this the right thread?

Ringwood consultation

Press release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/a31- ... go-on-show

Web link:

http://roads.highways.gov.uk/projects/a ... -widening/
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by Richardf »

If this goes ahead this is good news. Planned improvements are exactly what is needed here. Closure of (unnnesesary) side roads is also not before time and will make a difference too

Why though was it not done like this back in the 1990s when the eastbound was widened as part of the Ashley Heath scheme? To me eastbound was vastly overbuilt and space/money could have been better used making it 3 lanes each way, instead of 4 one way and 2 the other. Does the NB A338 junction at Ringwood really need 2 filter lanes?
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by Nicholas »

Richardf wrote:If this goes ahead this is good news. Planned improvements are exactly what is needed here. Closure of (unnnesesary) side roads is also not before time and will make a difference too

Why though was it not done like this back in the 1990s when the eastbound was widened as part of the Ashley Heath scheme? To me eastbound was vastly overbuilt and space/money could have been better used making it 3 lanes each way, instead of 4 one way and 2 the other. Does the NB A338 junction at Ringwood really need 2 filter lanes?
IMO, having four lanes on eastbound between the two A338 junctions makes that carriageway safer due to the addition of the B3081 junction in the middle. At least traffic coming off Ashley Heath Roundabout can move into lane two to make way for traffic leaving or entering for the B3081.

If I was Highways England, I would seriously look at closing the B3081 junction and somehow plug it into one of the other junctions. The Poulner Hill junction could also be closed off, as again the short slips and poor sight-lines (particularly eastbound) add to problem of harsh braking and traffic build up.
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Richardf
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by Richardf »

The B3081 joins via a standard slip road onto lane one. The 4th lane doesn't really benefit that road that much. My previous comment still stands about how much the A338 to Salisbury needs 2 lanes, when elsewhere more important roads only get 1 or less. I just feel the space could have been better used to widen both carriageways.

OK so westbound may now get the extra lane but looking on Google it's going to be a bit tight to fit it in. Better planning from the start could have avoided this problem.
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by Johnathan404 »

I'm hearing rumours that planned improvements for the M3, M27 and A31 are going to be shelved.

That's all I have at the moment so if it's true, for the M3 and M27 that could either be the smart motorway works or the J9 and J8 (respectively) improvements, but for the A31 I think this is the only candidate.

EDIT: What I've been told is "shelved" could be what wrinkly has more informed-ly called "re-scheduled" here.
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by wrinkly »

Johnathan404 wrote:EDIT: What I've been told is "shelved" could be what wrinkly has more informed-ly called "re-scheduled" here.
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by Richardf »

What was planned for the A31. All i can think of is the planned improvement at Ringwood? is that now postponed? Shame.
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by Richardf »

All looks good so far. Closing local junctions with the A31 can only be a good thing.

Traffic management for the bridge rebuilds will be interesting. Contraflow on the 4 lane e/b carriageway I suppose.
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A31 Ringwood Improvements.

Post by Richardf »

https://highwaysengland.co.uk/our-work/ ... paign=Orlo

Didn't realise this scheme had started, and I couldn't find a thread about it. So here we go.

If anyone has any photo, videos or simply been that way recently and can provide any updates that would be appreciated and interesting.
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Re: A31 Ringwood Improvements.

Post by Paul7755 »

I think much of the previous discussion back in around 2016/17 was in a more general A31 thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35671
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Re: A31 Dorset - Ignored and Forgotten?

Post by RichardA35 »

Topics Merged
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Re: A31 Dorset: Ignored/Forgotten/Ringwood Improvements

Post by WHBM »

Are both carriageway bridges being rebuilt ? I seem to recall they are 4 lanes eastbound but only 2 lanes westbound. I'm always particularly cautious coming down the hill westbound.
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