WORK begins next week to improve one of the area's worst traffic bottlenecks and accident blackspots - the junction of the A35 Barrack Road with Stour Road in the centre of Christchurch.

To clear the way for the start of the £1.25 million revamp in the autumn, preliminary work to move street lights and underground pipes and cables will be carried out from Monday with some restrictions to traffic.

There will be temporary lane closures in both directions along Barrack Road between the recreation ground and the Shell filling station, and restricted road widths in Stour Road.

Generally, these will be in place from Monday to Saturday, 9am-4pm and possibly after 6pm to avoid rush-hour periods.

But during the week beginning September 17, this will not be feasible and the Barrack Road lane closures will be continuous.

Meanwhile, the main project to widen and improve the busy junction is scheduled to start in early October and continue until next spring.

Work to the busy and accident-blighted junction - which carries some 35,000 vehicles a day - includes installing wider pavements, pedestrian crossings, new traffic signals and hi-tech traffic detection equipment.

To keep traffic flowing, the traffic lights at the junction will be switched off and right-turns banned in and out of Barrack Road.

During the autumn and winter, the work will take place six days a week on the pavements, forcing the closure of the nearside lane of Barrack Road in each direction with restricted access in and out of Stour Road where drivers will be diverted via the Bailey Bridge and Fountain roundabouts.

When that work is finished, the offside lanes of Barrack Road will be closed to allow contractors to carry out work to the central reservations.

The whole project is scheduled for completion in May 2008.