We use legislation and government guidelines to manage and co-ordinate roadworks.
Companies who can undertake work on the highway include (but are not limited to):
- utility companies - installing and maintaining your gas, water, electric, telephone and internet connections. They are Statutory Undertakers who have the right to work in the highway to install, upgrade and maintain their apparatus
- agencies like Royal Mail, Network Rail and the Environment Agency
- private contractors - which can include those working at sites of new developments, installing new utility apparatus before it is adopted or changing road layouts
- highway maintenance - the council, or it's sub contractors carrying out routine maintenance or improvement works on its network
In most cases, organisations are required to apply in advance to do the works they need to undertake, particularly when they are digging in the road or if the works will affect pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Exceptions include unplanned, urgent activities which can commence without notice.
Works on private roads requires the prior consent of the land owner(s) and are not assessed by Dorset Council.
What to expect at sites of roadworks
There is a national code of practice which anyone setting out or working at roadworks sites is expected to comply with, there is also legislation and guidance covering the traffic management arrangements.
You can expect roadworks sites to be safe - for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
Site managers must also pay particular attention to the needs of disabled people and should also consider other vulnerable groups such as elderly people, children and those with push chairs.
There should be clear instructions in the form of signing about exactly what is required of you to do to pass through the works site safely.
Dorset Council inspects roadworks sites to ensure compliance with a number of measures, but due to the number of works that take place it is only possible for us to inspect a sample. The majority of work takes place without issue.
If you believe there to be a problem at a site of roadworks, please tell us.
Keeping disruption to a minimum
Dorset Council accommodates hundreds of essential activities every month. The reality is that the vast majority take place without issue. More commonly, work will cause local inconvenience to residents on a street, and less frequently works cause wider disruption and delays to a community or even thousands of road users.
Emergency or urgent activities
Dorset Council needs to accommodate dozens of emergency and urgent activities every month, such as repairs to gas leaks, burst water mains, and dangerous potholes. Such activities come with little or no notice and do not need prior approval.
Noise disruption from works
Construction noise and disruption to nearby residents and businesses is a consideration for works which happen at any time, but more so for works happening during the evening and hours of darkness.
Whilst works which are urgent and unplanned will proceed no matter the time, other times, works are planned to happen in the evening or night because on balance it has been decided that the impact on road users and traffic from traffic management measures could be lessened by having the work take place out of hours. Benefits are then realised to a great proportion of people because the traffic management can be removed and the road returned back to normal use in the day when most people are travelling.
Mitigating disruption to traffic and pedestrians
Due to the nature of and demands on our network, it is inevitable that there will be disruption to road users and traffic sometimes.
Dorset Council operates a Permit Scheme - the Scheme ensures that works can be facilitated but in a more controlled manner. Permit schemes provide for better co-ordination of all works, and closer monitoring can drive behavioural change.
When Dorset Council is assessing applications for works, it's main considerations are ensuring safety at site for road users and workforce; as well as mitigating disruption by agreeing conditions on the works and traffic management as and when appropriate.
Compliance with conditions imposed on works are monitored and non-compliance can be subject to fines.
Notification of works
Dorset Council as Highway Authority does not notify individual households or businesses of forthcoming work when the activities are approved. Residents and businesses can follow current and planned roadworks and traffic restrictions on our roadworks map.
It is not a requirement for all works that residents, businesses and services be notified in advance; however the likely scale of disruption occurring from the works and any associated traffic management impact is likely to inform the need to provide notification.
It is the responsibility of the organisation carrying out the works to arrange notification. This might be directly by letter drop, placing of advance warning signs before works start or other means.
As a resident or business owner, you can reasonably expect to be notified if:
- activities are happening in the evening and noise will be produced from the works
- access to property or premises is expected to be markedly affected
- utility services supplied to customers will be affected during the works
It is not reasonable to expect personal notification if works:
- are an emergency or urgent (unplanned) - the matter being attended to is unforeseen. This is the case whatever the time of day the works are undertaken
- there is no notable impact to the access of property or business
Road closures
As road closures are the most disruptive form of traffic management, they are only requested and agreed when there are no other suitable alternatives. Often, roads are closed because they are not wide enough to facilitate the works whilst allowing traffic to pass safely at the same time.
Before, during and after road closures:
- the council ensures that rubbish and recycling collection services, school transport, mobile libraries, social services, emergency services, bus operators, councillors and town and parish councils are notified of planned road closures in advance. Residents and businesses can follow current and planned roadworks and traffic restrictions on our roadworks map
- we ask and expect organisations closing roads to place out advance warning signs at least a week in advance and notify all residences, businesses and services immediately affected by a road closure
- access in to closed roads is prohibited in a vehicle unless authorised, operatives might be available at closure points or on site to offer guidance on access arrangements. It is reasonable to expect access to be maintained for residences, businesses, schools, healthcare services and so on if it is appropriate and safe. Any exceptional circumstances where access cannot be maintained should be conveyed to affected parties before works start, and alternatives will need to be agreed. Due to the nature of most works requiring road closures, local access arrangements will largely depend on the operational situation on site at any one time and aren’t known in advance
- drivers cannot pass through a closed section from one end to the other on a normal journey - follow the diversion, which is normally signed or find another route
- diversions which are signed may not follow what appears locally as the most obvious or "convenient" route. Diversions have to follow roads of the same classification and construction or higher than the one that is closed, unless exceptional circumstances are agreed. This means that residents and other locals may know alternative routes better suited to their journey which are not signed. So long as they are used appropriately and legally, any public highway can be used as an alternative
- the organisation responsible for the closure is expected lift signing to clear the carriageway as soon as the works are complete and it is safe to reopen
Should road closures not be operating in this matter, please contact us.