A VITAL stretch of the Wessex Way into Bournemouth town centre will be reduced to one lane from today to complete roadworks.

Bournemouth council is fixing the bridge over the train station by St Paul’s roundabout and the speed limit has been cut from 50mph to 30mph.

However, the snow and ice stopped the work meeting the original Christmas deadline and the council is closing the lane to complete the work as soon as possible.

From Monday, the road will be reduced from two lanes to one after the evening rush hour and during the early hours of the morning.

Drivers have already complained to the Daily Echo that they have been held up by the roadworks, and that the signage is confusing about what lane you should be in.

Ian Kalra, the council’s transport manager, said: “We have reviewed the critical parts of the remaining works and established a programme to complete the overall scheme in the shortest possible time.

“Whilst we acknowledge the daytime disruption that these works will regrettably cause, we trust that the travelling public will understand the importance of completing these works at the earliest opportunity.”

The work began last September and was supposed to last 12 weeks.

The new deadline is the end of January.

The council is removing the existing road surface and grass verges, and installing a waterproof surface, surface water drainage, and expansion joints.

The work is supposed to stop water seeping through the road and rusting the structure underneath.