Temporary signals go up where Abbotsbury Road meets Chickerell Road on 7 September and stay until 27 November. Both roads also shut fully 9 to 16 November.

Dorset Council will put temporary traffic signals on the junction of Abbotsbury Road and Chickerell Road in Weymouth on 7 September, and expects to take them off on Friday 27 November. (Dorset Council, 18 August 2026)

That is twelve weeks on a junction where the council’s own surveys counted more than 10,000 vehicles a day on Chickerell Road and around 8,000 on Abbotsbury Road. It is the biggest single piece of disruption booked on Weymouth’s roads this autumn.

What is being built

The scheme is a pedestrian and cycle job rather than a capacity job. The council’s design includes:

  • a new signalled puffin crossing on Chickerell Road
  • a new zebra crossing and cycle crossing on Abbotsbury Road
  • new dropped kerbs on Chickerell Road, giving uncontrolled crossing points for wheelchairs, mobility scooters, pushchairs and bikes
  • a safer crossing point at the entrance to Compass School
  • changes to the road layout to slow traffic through the junction
  • a tighter corner to cut vehicle speeds, with a new grassed area and seating

The council says the work strengthens the routes to local schools, and names Budmouth Academy as well as Compass School.

The bit the press release leaves out

The council’s news release describes temporary traffic lights on all four approaches. Its project page for the scheme goes further and carries a date the release does not mention.

Abbotsbury Road and Chickerell Road close completely from 9 to 16 November, 8pm to 6am, with a localised signed diversion. The project page also says temporary two-way signals will be in place on Chickerell Road for the whole construction period, and gives a completion date of Friday 27 November.

If you drive that junction at night in November, that week is the one to know about.

Why here

The council put figures behind the choice of junction. Its surveys recorded 431 pedestrians and 98 cyclists a day crossing near the planned parallel crossing, and a further 307 people a day crossing where the new puffin crossing will go.

There is also a collision record. In the five years to January 2020, within 25 metres of the junction, there was one collision causing serious injury and four causing slight injuries.

The money is not from the council’s own highways budget. The scheme is funded by developer contributions from the Curtis Fields housing development.

Cllr Jon Andrews, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Place Services, said: “Thousands of vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists use this junction every day, and we know it can be difficult to cross safely, especially at busy times.” He added that the council appreciated the work would cause “some disruption while it is being carried out”.

What it means for you

  • If you drive between Weymouth and Chickerell, expect two-way temporary signals on Chickerell Road from 7 September until late November. The work was deliberately scheduled after the peak summer holiday period, so the first weeks coincide with the school run rather than the beach traffic.
  • If you use the junction at night in November, both roads shut 8pm to 6am from 9 to 16 November. A signed diversion will be in place.
  • If you walk or cycle it, the finished layout gives you a signalled crossing on Chickerell Road and a zebra plus cycle crossing on Abbotsbury Road, where at present there is neither.
  • For problems during construction, Dorset Council gives 01305 221020 for emergencies outside normal working hours.

This is not the only work booked in the town. Weymouth Esplanade closes overnight from 28 September to 17 October, and the Wessex Roundabout from 19 to 23 October. All of it is listed, with dates, on our Dorset roadworks and travel page.

Sources

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