HIGHWAYS bosses have moved to calm anger over the congestion chaos from the A338 Spur Road works.

They met earlier this week following days of gridlock across the conurbation.

The work is to create an extra southbound lane on the section of the between Blackwater towards Cooper Dean roundabout and to improve the on and off slip roads.

It is a Dorset County Council scheme but is being fronted by Bournemouth.

Cllr Mike Greene, Bournemouth's cabinet member for transport, cleansing and waste, said: “We have received extensive feedback from residents and businesses about their frustration with the works and we are sorry for the disruption being caused to people’s lives.

“We want to make sure that this feedback is taken on board. The meeting with Dorset was to ensure they had fully considered and assessed all the traffic management options to see if everything is being done to ease congestion on the A338 and alternative routes around the conurbation.

"We are satisfied that this has happened and will continually monitor the works throughout the nine-month period.”

Today the A338 lane closure will be removed overnight, with two lanes back in action by 6am tomorrow morning.

For two weeks this section of road will be mostly free from traffic management with preparation work continuing away from the flow of traffic.

There will be some off-peak daytime lane closures for material deliveries and associated work.

On Sunday 30 September, three nights of northbound and southbound road closures are planned for temporary steel barriers to be installed.

The road will be closed between the A31 at Ashley Heath and the Cooper Dean roundabout from 10pm to 6am the following morning on Sunday and Tuesday.

On Monday 1 October the closures will start later to allow football supporters to travel to and from the match.

Daytime work will involve bridge works to join together the two bridges that carry the road over the River Stour, and make extensive repairs to these bridges. Night time work will mainly be earthworks to widen the southbound carriageway into the central reservation.

Cllr Daryl Turner, Dorset County Council Cabinet member for the natural and built environment said: “It is unavoidable that when lane closures are in place, traffic queues will occur.

"We have very few options of how to carry out the work. We will be doing what we can at night, and we will continually review traffic management to minimise disruption. Drivers should try to plan ahead, allowing extra time for journeys or finding alternative routes.”

The Blackwater Junction improvement works on the A338 are scheduled to last until June 2019.

Bournemouth West MP, Conor Burns and business leaders have complained the congestion is putting the area in a strangehold.