ROADWORKS that have caused misery for Poole-bound motorists for more than two months will finish next week, it has been announced.

Engineers carry out final resurfacing work on the busy A351 Sandford Road – where they’ve been putting in new sewers since early January – during three overnight shifts starting Wednesday March 21.

This means the road will be closed in both directions to traffic between 7pm until 5am, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Overnight traffic travelling in both directions will use the existing diversion along the B3075 Morden Road onto the A35.

Project manager Jonathan Barker said: “It is not possible to resurface the road without closing it in both directions.

“We were conscious that this would have a huge impact for motorists during the day so have arranged to carry out the work at night.

“We are allowing three days to carry out the work, which is the final stage of the project, but will do everything we can to complete it sooner.”

Thousands of angry drivers have been stuck in huge traffic queues on a number of occasions because of the sewerage project, carried out to minimise the risk of local flooding.

In January, eight miles of queues built up when the temporary traffic lights at Morden Park Corner failed.

Driver Richard Saunders recalled: “The queue was stretching back to Sandford and it took 45 minutes to reach the A35.

“There seemed to be no-one directing traffic. Purbeck was effectively cut off.”

One week later the problems returned after a member of staff – employed to operate the lights – failed to turn up to work for two days.

On a separate occasion, drivers endured lengthy tailbacks after vandals tampered with the lights’ timings, Wessex Water revealed.