ROADWORKS planned for a busy route will be a “major headache” for bus services, with congestion already having a significant impact on the “fragile” road network.

Representatives from Yellow Buses and Morebus have spoken out after motorists were warned to expect delays in Talbot Avenue for six weeks from Monday.

Temporary traffic lights will be in place during the £1.3 million works. Engineers will replace existing metal gas mains with modern plastic pipes.

Jenni Wilkinson, head of marketing and customer excellence for Yellow Buses, said: “This is just one of so many roadworks that are occurring on the network and which we deal with on a day-to-day basis. We seem to have a fragile road network infrastructure locally so roadworks cause problems for everyone. It is a major headache for public transport providers which can’t just use an alternative route to miss the congestion. It feels like congestion is at its highest in memory out of the holiday season. Some are emergency roadworks, and many like this one aren’t directly on our service routes, but we are affected as local traffic looks for alternative roads.

“All roadworks impact on our ability to run a service, and despite putting in many extra resources it is a real challenge.”

Richard Wade, operations manager for Morebus and UNIBUS, said Talbot Avenue already presents a problem for the services.

“This particular stretch of road almost always has tailbacks in both directions during peak times, and the temporary lights can be expected to exacerbate these queues,” he said. “Also, the timing of the roadworks coincides with the return of many students, and directly impacts the high frequency U1/U4 routes, which operate every five to 10 minutes between Talbot and Lansdowne Campuses.

“We have an alternative route registered, but no doubt other traffic will make the alternatives busy too. Some delays are to be expected and additional resources for these routes are usual at the start of term for capacity reasons.

“We will be monitoring the situation closely and plugging any gaps in service. We also expect the delays to filter back in both directions, impacting our m1, 13, 15 and 17 services.”

The works in Talbot Avenue will progress westwards along Talbot Avenue from the Wimborne Road roundabout towards Talbot Roundabout. The temporary traffic lights will move according to where the work is taking place. Side roads on the north side of Talbot Avenue - Oban Road, Roslin Road and Berkley Road - will be consecutively closed as the works move along the stretch. Signed diversion routes will be in place during the closures.

SGN construction manager Alan Thompson said: “Once the work has been completed, Bournemouth homes and businesses will enjoy the benefits of a continued safe and reliable gas supply for many years to come.”