Beaminster Tunnel on the A3066 shuts for four weeks from Monday 9 November for landslip safety work. Drivers follow a signed diversion on other A roads.

Beaminster Tunnel will be closed for four weeks from Monday 9 November. It reopens on Friday 4 December, according to Dorset Council.

The tunnel carries the A3066 north out of Beaminster towards Mosterton and Crewkerne. The council calls the job “emergency safety improvements” to the embankment above it, which slipped in February.

What is happening

After the landslip, engineers investigated and surveyed the slope. The council says they identified a package of work to make the embankment more stable. It includes:

  • work to reduce the risk of future landslips
  • clearing vegetation around the tunnel structure
  • cleaning the inside of the tunnel
  • resurfacing the road through it
  • sensors buried in the embankment to monitor it
  • a trial of new traffic signals

The sensors will watch the embankment continuously and give early warning of ground movement. The council says this is the first technology of its kind in Dorset.

The new signals replace the temporary lights that have controlled traffic through the tunnel. Cllr Jack Jeanes, the council’s Cabinet Member for Place Services, said they would be “more reliable”. The council will keep checking traffic and how well the signals work after the tunnel reopens.

Why now

The council has timed the closure to finish before winter. Wetter weather raises the risk of more ground movement, and of a longer closure later.

“We appreciate the closure will cause some temporary disruption, and we thank people for their patience,” Cllr Jeanes said. “Carrying out the work now, before winter conditions arrive, will help reduce the risk of a much longer and more disruptive closure later on.”

What it means for you

  • The tunnel is shut all day, every day, from Monday 9 November until Friday 4 December. The council has not said the road will open at night or at weekends.
  • Follow the signs. The council says a signed diversion uses “alternative A roads”. It has not published the route, so allow extra time on your first trip.
  • Beaminster itself stays open. All the B roads into the town remain open, so shops and businesses can still be reached.
  • The council says it will post regular progress updates. We will add any change to the reopening date here and on our Dorset roadworks page.

Other closures in the county this month, including the A352 at Minterne Magna until 24 November, are on that page too.

Sources