Organisations who can undertake work on the highway include (but are not limited to):
- utility companies and their contractors - installing and maintaining gas, water, electric, telephone and internet connections
- Royal Mail, Network Rail and the Environment Agency
- private contractors like those working at new developments, or those installing new utility apparatus privately
- the council and it's contractors - carrying out routine highway maintenance or improvement works
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 the council.
You can expect roadworks sites to be safe - for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Every site should be properly guarded, lit and signed.
Site managers must also pay particular attention to the needs of people with a disability and other vulnerable groups such as elderly people, children and those with pushchairs.
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.
The 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 safety issue at a site of roadworks, please tell us.
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
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 - we request that noise is kept to an absolute minimum after 11pm.
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 sometimes be disruption to road users and traffic.
The 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 the 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.
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 closures are introduced
- 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
During road closures
- 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
After works have finished
The organisation responsible for the closure is expected lift signing to clear the carriageway as soon when the works are complete and it is safe to reopen
Should road closures not be operating in this matter, you should try contacting the organisation responsible for the works in the first instance before the council.
When works have concluded and it is safe to remove traffic management, those responsible for works should arrange for equipment to be cleared and roads, pavements and verges returned back to normal use.
There is a national code of practice which informs how reinstatements should be laid; and another for how sites are inspected once works have finished.
The council aims to inspect as many sites of works as possible on at least one occasion to check for reinstatement compliance, in the two years following conclusion of works.
Should defects be identified, they are reported to the organisation responsible and they need to rectify them at the earliest opportunity.
If you have an enquiry, you should try contacting the organisation responsible for the works in the first instance before the council.
Reinstatements in roads and pavements
Organisations are encouraged to reinstate their excavations in the same materials as the surrounding surface, as soon as possible once works have finished. Sometimes, for operational reasons, reinstatements are left in an interim state, and in this instance permanent reinstatements should be laid within the following six months.
There is often a period of time at the end of the works where any reinstatements laid in the road and pavement are left to "cure" before traffic can use them again.
Reinstatements in verges
Following works in verges, organisations are required to rake, topsoil and seed. A reasonable growth must be established within the following 12 months.