The A37 shuts overnight at Long Ash Lane to 25 August and the A35 has gained average speed cameras in three villages. Plus ferry tolls and park and ride.

Dorset is a large rural county with two trunk roads and very few alternatives to them. When the A35 or the A37 shuts, the diversion is not a parallel dual carriageway, it is a lane through a village. That is why a road closure here matters more than the same closure would in a town.

This page covers what is genuinely booked and dated: Dorset Council’s own resurfacing programme, the National Highways work on the A35, and the standing things that catch people out every year, the chain ferry, the park and ride and where the pinch points actually are. Dorset Council publishes its live programme of road works and updates it as dates move, so check there before you travel.

What is closed and when

Everything in this section is a full closure from Dorset Council’s live resurfacing programme, checked on 9 August 2026. Roads are open outside the hours shown, and the night-time schemes are open at weekends.

Dorset Council full road closures for resurfacing, August to October 2026 Timeline of nine full road closures in the Dorset Council resurfacing programme. A37 Brakers Hill closes overnight 5 to 14 August. A37 Long Ash Lane closes overnight 17 to 25 August. Two roads at Buckland Newton close daytime 28 August to 4 September. Sandy Lane at Minterne Magna closes daytime 7 to 10 September. Herrison Road at Charlton Down closes daytime 14 to 15 September. Waterloo Road at Corfe Mullen closes daytime 17 to 22 September. Rushall Lane and Knoll Lane at Corfe Mullen close daytime 23 September to 2 October. Weymouth Esplanade closes overnight 28 September to 17 October, the longest single closure in the programme. Wessex Roundabout at Weymouth closes overnight 19 to 23 October. Dorset Council full closures for resurfacing, August to October 2026 Dark bars close overnight, 8pm to 6am, and reopen at weekends. Light bars close in daytime hours only. Overnight closure Daytime closure 1 Aug1 Sep1 Oct1 Nov A37 Brakers Hill 5 to 14 Aug A37 Long Ash Lane 17 to 25 Aug Buckland Newton, two roads 28 Aug to 4 Sep Minterne Magna, Sandy Lane 7 to 10 Sep Charlton Down, Herrison Road 14 to 15 Sep Corfe Mullen, Waterloo Road 17 to 22 Sep Corfe Mullen, Rushall & Knoll 23 Sep to 2 Oct Weymouth Esplanade 28 Sep to 17 Oct Wessex Roundabout, Weymouth 19 to 23 Oct Weymouth Esplanade is the longest closure in the programme at twenty nights, and it runs into the October half term week. Source: Dorset Council live programme of road works, checked 9 August 2026. Dates move; check before you travel. Chart by The Dorset Post.
Chart by The Dorset Post from Dorset Council's live programme of road works.

The one to plan around is Weymouth Esplanade, closed overnight from 8pm to 6am between 28 September and 17 October, followed immediately by the Wessex Roundabout from 19 to 23 October. Twenty nights of seafront closure and then the main roundabout into the town, back to back, ending in half term week.

Before that, the A37 north of Dorchester takes two bites: Brakers Hill from 5 to 14 August and Long Ash Lane from 17 to 25 August, both 8pm to 6am. The A37 is the Dorchester to Yeovil road and there is no comfortable night-time alternative, so allow for the signed diversion rather than trusting a satnav through the lanes.

There is also a long micro surfacing programme running through August and September, mostly on residential streets: Broadmayne, then Lucetta Lane, Coburg Road and Edward Road in Dorchester, Broadwey Close, Selwyn Close, Pemberton Close, Clayton Close, Beverley Road and Monmouth Avenue in Weymouth, Cowleaze and St Martinsfield at Martinstown, Jennys Lane at Lytchett Matravers and West Street at Corfe Castle. Those are two-stage jobs, a removal visit and then a resurfacing visit weeks later, so a street can be dug up twice.

The A35, and the new average speed cameras

The A35 is the county’s spine and it is National Highways’ road, not the council’s. Two things are worth knowing about it.

The speed limits have changed. In January 2026 National Highways began delivering the A35 Charmouth to Yellowham speed reduction scheme, a £1.8 million safety project along a 26-mile stretch. The reason given was blunt: the latest five years of validated collision data on that section recorded 199 collisions, 305 casualties and three deaths. The scheme installs average speed cameras in Winterbourne Abbas, Morcombelake and Chideock, and introduces new limits including 50mph between Coombe Road and Monkey’s Jump Roundabout, 50mph between West Stinsford Roundabout and the Cuckoo Lane overbridge, and 30mph between Hollow Way and Howard Road. National Highways said the work would be finished by the end of March 2026 and the restrictions would then be enforceable by police.

There is a long run of overnight closures. According to the National Highways notifications published by Charmouth Parish Council, the A35 between Stinsford and Bere Regis closes overnight on weeknights from 17 August to 5 September, 8pm to 6am, with signed diversions. That follows six weeknight closures on the Dorchester bypass from 10 to 15 August. There is also intermittent night work at Miles Cross near Bridport, where a new roundabout is being built, including closures on 13 and 14 August and on 28 and 29 August, and a short closure on the evening of 23 August for the town’s torch light procession. These dates come from National Highways rather than from the council, so check the National Highways road closure report for the current position.

The chain ferry, and the thing that has changed

The Sandbanks to Shell Bay chain ferry is the short way between Poole and the Isle of Purbeck, and the alternative is a long drive round through Wareham. It runs every twenty minutes, six crossings an hour, seven days a week, with a four-minute crossing. First sailing from Sandbanks is 7am and the last is 11pm.

The important change: since 1 July 2026 vehicles cannot pay at the barrier. The ferry uses number plate recognition and all vehicle tolls are paid online or through the operator’s app. Current tolls are £1.18 for a motorbike, £6.26 for a car or van and £12.52 for a goods vehicle or bus. Check the live service status before you set off, because the ferry does come out of service for weather, tides and its scheduled maintenance, and when it does the diversion adds the best part of an hour.

Weymouth park and ride

Weymouth’s Mount Pleasant Park & Ride, just off the A354 on Mercery Road (DT3 5HJ), is the sensible way into the town in summer. Parking is free, provided by Dorset Council, and you pay only for the bus.

First Bus Service 2 runs seven days a week and, since 23 July 2026, peak frequency is every 12 minutes Monday to Saturday and every 15 minutes on Sundays, reverting to a quieter timetable in the autumn. A ticket is £6.50 for up to two adults and three children into the town centre. During the summer holidays an extra Monday evening trip runs for the firework displays, with the last bus leaving King’s Statue at 10pm.

The routes that always catch people out

  • The A35 through Chideock and Morcombelake. Two villages the trunk road runs straight through, now with average speed cameras. Allow more time than the map suggests, in both directions, all year.
  • The A354 into Weymouth. One road carries the seafront, the port, Portland and the park and ride. On a hot Saturday it is the busiest stretch of tarmac in the county.
  • The A31 at Ferndown and Wimborne. The eastern gateway to Dorset and the route most people from the M27 arrive on. It backs up on Friday afternoons in summer and there is no useful parallel route.
  • The B3157 coast road between Weymouth and Bridport. Beautiful, and the standard diversion when the A35 shuts. It is single carriageway, hilly and slow, so a closure that adds “twenty minutes” on paper usually adds more.
  • Corfe Castle in August. The Purbeck road through the village is narrow and the castle car park fills early. The Swanage Railway between Norden and Swanage exists partly to take cars off it.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I check Dorset roadworks?

Dorset Council publishes a roadworks map and a live programme of resurfacing closures with dates. For the A35 and other trunk roads, which the council does not manage, use the National Highways road closure report. Dorset Highways’ traffic team can be reached on 01305 221020.

Is the A35 closed in Dorset this month?

Not in the daytime. National Highways notifications published by Charmouth Parish Council list overnight closures between Stinsford and Bere Regis from 17 August to 5 September, 8pm to 6am on weeknights, with signed diversions, and six weeknight closures on the Dorchester bypass from 10 to 15 August.

Are there speed cameras on the A35 in Dorset?

Yes. National Highways’ Charmouth to Yellowham scheme installs average speed cameras in Winterbourne Abbas, Morcombelake and Chideock, alongside new 30, 40 and 50mph limits along the 26-mile stretch.

How much is the Sandbanks ferry in 2026?

£6.26 for a car or van, £1.18 for a motorbike and £12.52 for a goods vehicle or bus. Since 1 July 2026 vehicle tolls must be paid online or by app rather than at the barrier.

Is Weymouth park and ride free?

The parking is free. The bus is £6.50 for up to two adults and three children into the town centre on First Bus Service 2 from Mount Pleasant.

When is Weymouth Esplanade closed?

Overnight, 8pm to 6am, from 28 September to 17 October 2026 for resurfacing, followed by the Wessex Roundabout from 19 to 23 October, according to Dorset Council’s live programme.

Sources

Next: Dorset train times to London if you would rather not drive at all, and things to do in Dorset for where all this traffic is heading.

Dates and prices were correct when checked on 9 August 2026. Roadworks move. Always confirm with the council or National Highways before travelling.