HGV routes to and from Poole could eventually be changed to avoid Longham Bridge with further measures currently being considered to protect Ferndown town centre.
Ferndown councillor, Cathy Lugg, claims several opportunities have been lost over recent years to re-route traffic away from the town centre.
She says one of the problems on the A348, one of the routes to the A31, is Longham Bridge which has been frequently damaged by lorries because it is so narrow, not able to take two big lorries at the same time.
She has now appealed for Dorset council to negotiate with the Highways Authority to downgrade the A348 to a B road which would then allow a weight restriction at Longham Bridge.
Cllr Lugg told a Dorset Council meeting: “Residents constantly complain about the large number of HGVs travelling through the town, many coming from the port of Poole, and going on to other routes upcountry.
After years of trying, last year Cllr Parkes and I persuaded Dorset Council to reduce the speed on this road to 30mph. A resident who lives along Ringwood Road at Longham, tells me this has had some impact on HGV traffic, as during busy times, it no longer shows as the fastest route.
“When the A31 bypass was built, the opportunity to direct traffic away from Ferndown Town Centre was missed. More recently an upgrade to Gravel Hill was again meant to address the issue. Again, Ferndown were let down.
“As well as travelling through the Ferndown Town Centre traffic has to negotiate Longham Bridge. This bridge is unsuitable for HGVS as only one can traverse the bridge at a time, and there have been collisions, vehicles stuck and frequent damage to the bridge. It needs a weight restriction but as an A road this isn’t possible.
“I believe that Cllr Ray Bryan, when he was cabinet member for Highways, had conversations with Highways England about downgrading the A348 to a B road, to facilitate a weight restriction. Will Dorset Council commit to working with National Highways to make this a reality?”
Highways portfolio holder Cllr Jon Andrews said he would ask officers to hold talks with National Highways and BCP about changing the signed freight route – but said the council had no intention at the moment of asking for the road to be downgraded.
He told Cllr Lugg: “The current arrangement is that freight traffic travelling to the Port of Poole is signed along the A349 Gravel Hill and traffic leaving the port is signed along the A348 Ringwood Road. Any change to this arrangement would require a joint agreement with National Highways, and BCP Council to sign all port related traffic along the A31 and A349 rather than the A348.
“However, not all freight traffic is going to the Port and there are significant industrial estates in the North Poole and Bournemouth area that are more easily accessed via the A348. With limited numbers of river crossings and associated primary routes to and from the BCP area, the impact of any new weight limit on one corridor on the others must be carefully considered.
“While we have no intention of downgrading the route at the current time, we will continue to work to deliver highway improvement schemes on Ringwood Road and through Ferndown town centre that will help to reduce vehicle speeds, improve the public realm and dissuade HGVs from using the A348 in future.
“We are also investigating what minor improvements could be made to the approach to Longham Bridge to help reduce bridge strikes.”