August overnight closures for A31 bridge construction work

Crews are well on track to finishing the major A31 road widening and bridge replacement scheme in late November and the next phase will see several 45m long beams brought on site to begin reconstruction.

In August there will be two sets of two-night closures as part of this process. The first closures will take place on Tuesday, August 9 and Wednesday, August 10 from 8pm to 6am with the closure of the A31 westbound lanes (towards Bournemouth) between M27 J1 Cadnam to A338 Ashley Heath Roundabout.

There will be diversions in place via the A336, A326, A35, A3060 and A338.

Identical closures will take place one week later on Tuesday August 16 and Wednesday 17. The diversions will be the same.

The demolition and removal of the two bridges that carried the westbound A31 was completed on June 22 – one week earlier than planned.

Crews have also completed the resurfacing and widening of the path between West Street and the Verwood junction.

Resurfacing work on path between West Street and the Verwood junction by the A31 at Ringwood. Picture: National Highways

The new path material is made from recycled tyres and produces only 50 per cent carbon compared to traditional surfacing materials.

Minimising the carbon footprint of the scheme has also been seen in its removal of old materials during demolition, with 96 per cent of all materials removed from site being recycled. National Highways added that their upcoming work will generate less noise, vibrations and dust.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “These new beams are 45 metres long so installation will be a delicate and challenging task. We’ll need to close the A31 westbound lanes overnight for two nights to lift the beams. Once these are in place, we can begin to build the new bridge decks.”