Junction safety improvements planned near Upton Country Park - to start 13 January 2025
Wider footways, a parallel crossing and a reduced speed limit are to be introduced near Upton Country Park, off the A35, near Poole.
This will provide safer facilities for walking and cycling and improve safety for drivers, following a number of accidents in recent years.
Dorset Council is carrying out the work. It will start on Monday 13 January 2025*. To protect the workforce and minimise congestion throughout the roadworks, temporary traffic signals will be in place along with temporary restrictions with signed diversions. Upton Country Park will be open as usual:
- The westbound A35 off-slipway at Upton Country Park will be closed for the duration of the work. A signed diversion will be in place via the next junction (Upton roundabout).
- No access to Poole Road, Upton for motorists travelling from Creekmoor (Upton Gateway roundabout). There will be a signed diversion.
- The two bus stops on the west bound side of Poole Road will be unavailable during the work, with customers directed to nearby stops.
- There will be three nights of road closures towards the end of the work for resurfacing.
Check our map for details of diversions
During the works:
- Motorists from Creekmoor will still be able to access both the A35 and Upton Road from the Upton Gateway roundabout.
- Motorists coming from Upton will still be able to access the Upton Bypass, Upton Country Park and Creekmoor from Poole Road.
- Upton Country Park will be open as usual.
- Walkers, cyclists and wheelers wishing to access Upton Country Park and beyond will be able to use the current footway/cycle path.
Councillor Jon Andrews, Cabinet Member for Place Services at Dorset Council, said: “These improvements are vital for the safety and wellbeing of communities in the local area, so we thank everyone in advance for their patience during the works.
“We aim to keep disruption to a minimum but please plan ahead and allow extra time, particularly during the rush hour.
“Widening the footway in this busy area, reducing the speed for a short stretch of road and adding the new crossing will make the area more pleasant and safer for all.”
Image: A person standing at the current crossing
The work will include:
- Installation of a new parallel crossing for pedestrians and cyclists on the approach to Upton Country Park from Poole Road.
- Widening of footways from both the Upton and Creekmoor direction towards Upton Country Park. This will enable more space for walkers and wheelers (eg users of bicycles and mobility aids).
- Removal of the left turn lane and tightening of the junction Poole Road/A35 slip to to reduce risk of collisions.
- A speed limit reduction to 30mph from Upton Gateway roundabout and Poole Road, and to the Upton Country Park entrance. This will revert back to the national speed limit on the westbound slip road before the dual carriageway to enable safe increase of speed for drivers approaching the A35. This speed limit reduction came into effect in August 2024.
- Maintenance of vegetation/verges to re-establish the full available width of existing footways and improve visibility for users. Ecological surveys have been undertaken, and careful maintenance and planting will ensure the habitats are left in a measurably better state, delivering a net gain for biodiversity. Overhanging branches have been cut back where necessary along the footway.
See the Upton slip road scheme web page and general arrangement design drawing.
* Works delayed (Update 11 September 2024)
We have been advised that Southern Gas Network (SGN) works at Blandford Road North will complete later than planned; they have advised this will be 20 September. Unfortunately, this means that we need to postpone our planned improvements at the Upton Country Park junction until 13 January 2025. SGN's current one-way system means we would be unable to introduce our road closure and diversion route for our works at the same time.
Our decision was not made lightly: as well as keeping traffic flowing, we need to consider work schedules and equipment delivery to meet a timetable that suits everyone, without incurring extra costs. Our revised date will enable us to do this.
We understand this delay will be disappointing for many, including our own construction team. We remain committed to enhancing this area with minimal disruption and thank you for your patience and understanding.
If you have any questions regarding SGN’s works, please call SGN on 0800 912 1700.
Comments
12 Comments
Will the removel of the left turn lane not cause traffic build up coming down from poole road?.
Removing the land hand turn lane shouldn’t have any impact on traffic flow on Poole Road, the road coming out of Upton.
There will be some impact on the road coming from the Upton Gateway roundabout, but with the speed limit reduction we are not expecting traffic to build up. The new layout will be like a traditional T- junction, with drivers following the standard traffic rules.
With the amount of drivers not using the filter lane it might even improve traffic flow. Then again throw in the amount that have no idea what those funny orange flashy things maybe not.
I travel to Creekmoor from Upton on a daily basis, will I be able to get back to Upton, which way would be best for me ?? so much disrumption in Upton !!
Hi Barbara, yes the signposted temporary diversion route will enable you to get back to Upton. This will take approximately three minutes longer than the current route.
Hi Barbara, the signposted temporary diversion will enable you to get back to Upton.
This is going to cause so many problems for so many people, for me, trying to get to hospital appointments on time is going to be a challenge I can well do without !! this is going to cause absolute chaos once again, for the residents in Upton !!!!!!! when will this ever end !!!
Hi Barbara, your route to the hospital will not change during the works and the layout of the traffic management will prioritise vehicles travelling east bound along Poole Road, Upton.
I regularly use this junction cycling down Roman Road into Upton Country Park.
I am surprised that there has been no public consultation on this scheme, I am signed up to Dorset's newsletter but seen no previous mention of this scheme.
I would have hoped that you were liaising with your colleagues in BCP Council but when I saw survey work being undertaken here a few months ago I contacted the BCP cycling officer and was told that there were no proposals for improved cycling facilities at this junction.
I would like to see what you are proposing but the link to your general arrangement design drawing in not working. So without knowing what you are proposing my comments on the improvements needed are:
1 heading south down Roman Road the cycleway sign directs you out to Longmeadow Lane rather than along the cycleway to the subway further south.
2 following the cycleway, which is very narrow due to lack of maintenance, one passes through a mud hole (even in dry weather) and then a gate which serves no purpose as access is available to the road from both sides.
3 having passed under the Longmeadow Lane subway the original cycle route follows the narrow foot way across Upton Road and the A35 on slip but recently the bridleway has been made available using the subways under these two roads. However this route is overgrown, not clearly signed and the section under the A35 has a rough surface. The original route was always substandard and was only provided as the better route via the bridleway was not at that time available due to its use as a cattle crossing from the farm to the fields to the north. The original route crossing the two roads should now be removed and the bridleway improved.
4 exiting on to the A35 westbound off slip the foot way/ cycleway is narrow and overgrown and the crossing to Upton Country Park encounters high speed traffic with a relatively short sight line. The foot way/ cycleway needs widening or better still a separate cycleway provided on a direct route and traffic on the A35 off slip needs to be physically slowed before the Upton Country Park entrance.
Hi Alan, thank you for taking an interest in the scheme and your comments. We have worked closely with BCP Council, including their active travel team, their transport team and Upton Country Park. The general arrangement drawing should be working now, so apologies for any difficulties that were encountered. If you would like further details, please do get in touch with our Highways Improvement team who will be pleased to talk to you further and answer your questions. Their email address is highwayimprovements@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Thank you for providing a layout.
As shown in General Arrangement Design Drawing A1, could the A35 westbound offslip (outside Upton Country Park) have the northern edge footway removed, the existing road realigned 1m or so north, to allow a wider footway on the southern edge of possibly 2m or 3m? I appreciate the position of the Oak tree, however it looks like it would be possible to realign the sliproad as explained within existing boundaries.
Also, given the importance of improving foot and cycle access to Upton Country Park, would it be possible to extend this scheme ever so slightly and potentially by just painting a footway from the sliproad footway at the entrance of Upton Country Park, to the west edge of the Upton Country Park drive for 10m or so to allow easier access to the footpath shown just inside Upton Country Park in a dotted line. Whilst this may be outside of Dorset Council area, can you work with Upton Country Park to achieve this?
I completely understand the nature of these two T junctions, but could the same reduction of incidents have been achieved by replacing the nothern most T junction with a small roundabout, naturally slowing approaching traffic and encouraging them to speed up after the junction rather than before? This may help traffic leaving Upton clear that junction more efficiently which would then allow traffic to clear the westbound offslip more easily.
In the interest of ensuring the westbound offslip does not back up onto the dual carriageway, and due to the location of the Upton Country Park westbound bus stop, and the traffic that builds up behind when the bus stops at this location or just general traffic entering Upton, would it be possible to paint a yellow hashed area at the westbound offslip T junction with Poole Road to prevent cars blocking the crucial right turn out of the slip road.
Would it be possible to add a "Dual Carriageway Ahead" or similar sign to the westbound onslip, as it looks like a narrow country lane and I have followed visitors to the area who drive at 30MPH along there and then try and join the Dual Carriageway slowly as a result (making it really difficult for the cars behind). Anything that makes this more obviously a sliproad would be appreciated. I don't believe there are any whitelines, cats eyes or anything. A painted hardstrip would help for example (like the A35 / A354 junction sliproads north of Puddletown). (Same applies on eastbound onslips).
I would also encourage the use of the existing bridleway and amazing existing network of three underpasses it connects to. Can I ask why the use of the underpasses is not encouraged as it avoids three busy roads, one of which is a 70MPH slip road. It is a much quicker and safer route.
I would also suggest the idea of a grey 30 MPH ahead warning sign at the top of the westbound offslip and applying the 30MPH as close to the new crossing as you can, supported by a speed warning sign. It's downhill and you need to encourage smooth consistent braking for the entire length of the sliproad.
Will the vegetation clearance to support improved sightlines be maintained, or done in such a way to reduce excess growth in future?
Thank you.
Hi Andrew, thank you for your suggestions and questions. I have added some answers below but if you would like to talk through anything or want more infromation, please do send an email to the team at highwayimprovements@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk and they will be help you further.
The General Arrangement drawing is being updated to show a wider footway on the southern side to 2/2.3m.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to remove the northern footway due to and underground services, such as telecoms, as well as affordability.
Regarding improving foot and cycle access to Upton Country Park, this area is under BCP Council and currently under review.
Regarding the two T junctions, many options were looked at for this scheme and the final scheme agreed based on affordability and the objectives set out in the brief.
The bridleway is under a lease agreement between BCP Council and the farmer.
We will ensure sightlines are kept clear and the area will be part of our annual maintenance plan for clearance.