THE councillor accountable for the management of the A338 roadworks has expressed his “regret and concern” over the significant delays caused by the scheme.

In a letter to Daily Echo readers, Cllr Daryl Turner, Dorset County Council’s cabinet member for the natural and built environment, said there was “a genuine commitment from all the partners to get things right for residents and businesses, and to improve the communications from this point onwards”.

The nine month Bournemouth and Dorset County councils scheme to add an extra lane at Blackwater Junction has been heavily criticised by the public, councillors and MPs due to the extensive congestion it has caused.

Cllr Turner said: “If we do not carry out this improvement work, then growth and jobs would be constrained, and the current road network could become a blocker to investment and prosperity in the area.”

He added “many options were considered for the traffic management”. Some of these, such as night time work, will be “employed where appropriate as the scheme progresses”.

Dorset County Councillor Margaret Phipps, who previously slammed the “abysmal planning” of the scheme, said removal of the cones on Saturday morning would be only be a temporary reprieve.

Both lanes are now open until Sunday, September 30. From that date there will be three nights of northbound and southbound road closures to allow temporary steel barriers to be installed.

“We have asked about all the alternatives, highways engineers have dismissed them, there is another six week closure coming up and it is going to be very, very difficult,” she said.

Officers and elected members from both Dorset County Council and Bournemouth council met on Tuesday to review their management of the scheme and discuss the issues surrounding it.

“Once explained in full, members understood that any alternative options to the current construction programme would not address the traffic flow issues,” Cllr Turner said.

He added there had been “promising results” in the reduction of waiting times on the A338, which were reportedly reduced from 90 minutes on Monday, September 3, to 20 minutes on Monday 10.

“This gives us cause for optimism that while delays are still being encountered, they are decreasing,” he said.

“We need to be realistic though that these may not reduce much further. The only other option would be to not continue with the works, but that will just store up problems for the future.”

There has been speculation the scheme, for “improvements” at the junction, is partly intended to prepare the way for Bournemouth council’s Wessex Fields new junction plan, which has yet to receive planning permission.