TRAVEL disruption caused by the Spur Road rebuild will ease as drivers “adjust to their new routine”, a councillor says.

Commuters using the main route in and out of Bournemouth have been hit with heavy delays during the first week of the £22million project, which is set to take nine months to complete.

Everything you need to know about the Spur Road rebuild

The tailbacks saw staff and patients leaving the Royal Bournemouth Hospital waiting for two hours last Monday and Tuesday, prompting the trust’s estates boss to declare that “if there is a major incident somewhere it could turn into a very big issue”.

And on Friday the scheduled full overnight road closure was put back by almost two hours as workers waited for the traffic flow to lessen.

Dorset County Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for environment, Cllr Peter Finney, pictured, told the Daily Echo he felt the situation had improved as the week progressed.

“It is a matter of drivers adjusting and getting used to their new routines,” he said.

“If people are sensible and do what we ask them to do then things will be much easier.”

He said the overnight closures had gone well and he was optimistic thing would continue to improve.

Yesterday traffic was exacerbated by the closure of the A348 Ringwood Road at the junction of the B3073 Christchurch Road at Longham for “essential water mains work”.

The closure was due to be lifted at 6am this morning. It was originally planned to be reopened at 8pm this evening, but this changed after the council reassessed and said more work could be done on the highway’s verge.

The next full closure on the Spur Road is scheduled for Sunday, with the next after that not scheduled until January 3. A signed diversion via the B3073 will be in place.

And from September 21 until Christmas the route will be closed southbound from the QinetiQ access, with a contraflow in place.