Drainage investigation works will soon be starting on Commercial Road in Weymouth ahead of the railway track removal this October.
Dorset Highways will be jetting drains to clear them and then use a camera to inspect inside the drainage system for damage.
Work will start on Monday 17 August at the Kings Street end of Commercial Road and move along the route towards Lower St Edmund Street, with stop and go boards in use from 9pm to 6am each weekday.
This will be followed by a week of ground penetrating radar from Monday 24 August, with mobile working and stop/go boards in use from 9pm to 6am each weekday.
The information from the two surveys will go towards completing the design of the road reinstatement following the removal of the disused railway tracks, with drainage repairs carried out at the same time.
Cllr Ray Bryan, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: “It is routine for us to carry out drainage inspections before any resurfacing works and ensures that any damage is repaired before the new surface is laid.
“Water causes the most damage to road condition and we need to treat both the external ingress of water as well as repairing any internal drainage issues.
“The funding for this project is time limited so we cannot delay these investigation works until after the summer. We hope that by carrying them out overnight there should be minimal disruption.”
Drainage investigation work on Custom House Quay is planned for the autumn, with the track removal along this section of the route scheduled for early 2021.
Earlier this year, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that Dorset Council was successful in its joint bid with Network Rail for funding to dismantle and remove the rails, which run along Commercial Road and Custom House Quay.
The disused tracks currently present an ongoing hazard to all road users – particularly cyclists and motorcyclists – and their removal will reduce the number of incidents along this busy route.
Sadly have to agree that it is necessary to remove the tracks with no prospect of reinstating the railway. Assuming that the road surface will have to be re done, could you please instal a crossing from the harbour to the back of Debenhams or the alleyway to the library? Traffic will e even faster with the tracks removed. Or why not narrow the road so that the pavements could be widened and a cycle route be installed?
As the rail tracks are an historic feature of Weymouth, can their pathway along the quayside be marked out with, perhaps coloured bricks, to mark the course of the railway. This could be flat and thus safe for all road users but would also define a part of Weymouth’s past for the future. If funds permitted, a small plaque could be installed to tell visitors the meaning of the coloured bricks.