MOTORISTS travelling to and from Bournemouth could face traffic misery with two major road projects overlapping.

Bournemouth council is due to start construction of phase one of a new junction on the A338 Spur Road at Holdenhurst in 2019, if planning permission is granted.

This would link the main road, via the new Wessex Fields development site and Deansleigh Road, with the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

Meanwhile a Highways England project to build an additional eastbound lane on the A31 between Ringwood and Verwood is due to start in 2020.

While this is still in the public consultation stage, the potential clash of these two long-term projects has caused concern at recent Ringwood Town Council meetings.

Town councillor Philip Day said at a public forum: “There will be substantial works between Blackwater and Cooper Dean on the Spur Road, and as things stand at the moment the two sets of roadworks are scheduled to take place at exactly the same time.”

In a later meeting to finalise the council’s response to Highways England’s proposals, Cllr Day said: “We need a specific recommendation to ensure works on the A31 do not coincide with the works at Blackwater/Cooper Dean section of the A338.” Members agreed to include this recommendation in their listed response to Highways England.

Bournemouth council said its officers were “in ongoing communication” with Highways England.

“They are a member of our Traffic Management Group, established to co-ordinate works and minimise disruption on the travelling public.”

However the authority did not, yesterday, say whether the works would run at the same time and how this might affect drivers.

The Bournemouth works are part of the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership’s £45.2 million Bournemouth International Growth (BIG) programme, which includes planned changes at Blackwater Junction, Parley Gate and Chapel Cross, tied in with housing and business development at Wessex Fields and Bournemouth Airport.

The work at Blackwater and nearby Hurn roundabout is due to start this September, and engineers are already reshaping Chapel Gate.

Phase two of the Holdenhurst roadworks would see a second sliproad constructed on the eastbound side of the A338, connected to phase one via a new bridge replacing the old footbridge. Funding for this part of the project is not yet in place.

Councillor Mike Greene, cabinet member for transport, said the project would fix the “congested, inadequate” roads at the eastern end of the town.

“Through this additional government funding we have an opportunity to transform the transport infrastructure in this part of the town and enable Wessex Fields to reach its full economic potential, creating more jobs for the future.”

The plan has been welcomed by the hospital, which under current NHS plans could become the county’s ‘major emergency centre’. Estates manager Edwin Davies said: “It would significantly improve vehicle access to the hospital, ensuring our patients, visitors and hardworking staff would not have to endure delays accessing or leaving the site, particularly during peak periods in the afternoon.

“The junction would also help to alleviate congestion that occurs on the site sporadically as a result of roadworks and traffic incidents on the main roads around the hospital.”