The existing layout of the Bridport Road junction presents a hazardous environment for walking and cycling. There is no crossing on Bridport Road and footways are narrow on what is a key walking route between Poundbury, the hospital and the town centre.
On top of this, the traffic signal poles and equipment are at the end of their serviceable life and urgently need replacing.
Improvement work is scheduled to start in September 2025, and will include:
- upgrading all signal equipment
- installing new crossing on Bridport Road (east of junction)
- new Toucan crossing on Williams Avenue
- removal of left-turn lanes to provide wider footways
- new ‘climbing lane’ for cyclists on Williams Avenue, helping provide traffic-free cycle access around junction
Construction work will also include resurfacing the road and footways.
Although the new layout will lead to a slight loss in traffic capacity, modelling shows that both junctions operate at well within capacity at present and will remain within capacity in the future. Brief periods during peak-time will still see intermittent queuing (as currently happens), however, these periods will generally occur when road users are likely to enter a subsequent queue in the network, leading to a minimal impact on overall journey time or reliability.
See the detailed design for the Bridport Road Williams Avenue Junction Improvements.
If you need these documents in a different format, contact highways.