FIVE weeks of traffic chaos could descend on Shaftesbury and Gillingham after a cabinet minister ruled in favour of repairing rather than upgrading the A303.

Transport minister Lord Adonis has ignored pleas from North Dorset District Council and Gillingham Town Council to upgrade the road to a dual carriageway.

Instead, a five-week closure for repairs is back on the drawing board, just months after a 14-week shutdown was shelved in the face of a public outcry.

“I am very angry but not surprised at the minister’s outright refusal to consider this upgrade which the people of Dorset have been promised for many years,” said North Dorset MP Bob Walter.

Mr Walter recently met with Lord Adonis and senior officials from the Highways Agency to discuss the future of the road, which is the major gateway to the district from the west of England. The long-term plan for the road had always been to upgrade the entire length of the A303 from the M3 in Hampshire to Exeter in Devon, said Mr Walter.

District council leader Cllr Peter Webb described the transport secretary’s decision as “disappointing”, adding that the government’s record on completing long-term road-building projects was not good.

“Repairs will obviously slow traffic in Gillingham and Shaftesbury and cause jams, but because the A303 is a national artery, they will have a much wider effect,” said Cllr Webb.

The Mayor of Gillingham, Cllr Ian Stewart, said the decision was an example of poor planning that would create the need for further work in 10 years’ time.

“I think it’s short-sighted, penny-pinching, and will be hugely disruptive to the people and businesses of Gillingham.

“It will also have a disastrous effect on our roads,” said Cllr Stewart.