TRAFFIC was flowing more easily through the controversial A35 Upton bypass roadworks yesterday.

Drivers reported shorter rush-hour hold-ups compared to last week, which was marred by lengthy delays as the 15-week engineering project started in earnest.

Thousands of fuming motorists became snarled up in the chaos, as the A35 works coincided with the start of a 10-week water main project on nearby Blandford Road and the suspension of the Sandbanks ferry service. The ferry has been taken to dry dock for its regular biennial five-week refit.

One lane of A35, eastwards from the Baker’s Arms roundabout, remains coned off, with a 40mph limit in place on the other lane.

The A35 project is not scheduled to finish for another three-and-a-half months. County engineers are carrying out road resurfacing, bridge parapet protection, undergrowth clearance and drainage works.