SIX weeks of works will close a major Christchurch route in the New Year as repairs and cable replacement take place.

Town Bridge, Castle Street and Bridge Street will be closed for at least six weeks from January 5.

Dorset County Council, which is responsible for highways in Christchurch, says work will be carried out by itself and BT.

The council says that there are “ongoing problems” with a BT Openreach duct, which has become exposed by traffic use.

They say the ducting is “fairly shallow” and is flexing when heavy vehicles drive over it.

Because of the flexing, the road surface is failing and allowing water to get into the structure of the bridge.

BT plans to remove the old cables and put them into a new duct route over the bridge, allowing the bridge to be waterproofed and the road resurfaced.

The work will require a temporary road closure, with engineers also considering carrying out works on Waterloo Bridge.

They could also resurface the road between the two bridges and possibly beyond.

Andrew Martin, head of highways, said the joint work would give the road a ‘longer life’.

“We have to close the road to do this due to the amount of work that is needed and the restrictive width of the carriageway.

“We are aware of the disruption this will cause local residents, but this work is essential and we are working on a joined up approach with everyone who needs to do work on that road to ensure that the closure is for as short a time as possible.”

Cllr Nick Geary, portfolio holder for transportation at Christchurch council, said he was pleased the work was being done.

“It is something that has been causing a lot of problems”, he added.

“It would be great to meet with Yellow Buses again to discuss the issues on that particular route.”

Suggestion heavy vehicles are to blame are "unfounded"

JENNI Wilkinson, head of marketing at Yellow Buses, said the closure would cause “considerable inconvenience” to passengers. 

Diversions will be in place and the bus company would do “everything possible” to minimise the impact of this work. 

She said any suggestion their vehicles were the “sole contributor” to the problems in Bridge Street were “unfounded”. 

“The bridge is public highway and, as such, has a high volume of all types of traffic. Where roads, bridges or tunnels require specific weight or size restrictions for vehicles then the Highway Authority, which is responsible for ensuring roads are fit for purpose, would put a restriction in place.”