THE road closures around Canford Bottom roundabout are not as bad as people had feared, a councillor says.

All four local roads onto the junction are shut until Friday, March 9, as part of a seven-week series of lockdowns during the £5.7million revamp project.

Business owners and residents had been worried about the effects, but Dorset County Councillor John Wilson says objections have died down.

Representatives from project managers the Highways Agency, Wimborne Chamber of Trade, Business Improvement District and Wimborne mayor Cllr Robin Cook were very positive about the scheme at their monthly meeting last Friday, he said.

Cllr Wilson, of Ferndown, said: “Nobody seemed to be bringing much in the way of objections, and I’ve heard surprisingly little from people complaining about the closures.

“Most people are experimenting with the various alternatives.”

Residents who know the area well are coping well with the diversions, some of which clock up to eight miles, he added.

“I must admit if I was a visitor from completely out of town trying to follow a triangle, square or circle I’m not sure it is awfully easy,” he said.

“But as with a lot of things, the closures were worse in the anticipation than in practice.”

Contractor Carillion is running slightly ahead of schedule thanks to good weather, he said, despite a recent gas leak which caused chaos and sparked evacuations.

Only the A31 through the busy junction between Wimborne and Ferndown is open.

From March 9 to March 23, local roads on the west of the roundabout will be closed and only A31 eastbound traffic will be able to travel continuously through the junction.