Custom House Quay railway track works (Dorset Council)
THE project to remove Weymouth's historic railway lines is being stopped in its tracks - for now. Work on Custom House Quay is being temporarily put on hold as shops reopen with the lifting of the current national lockdown. Phase two of Dorset Council's project to remove the disused rails along the harbourside was brought forward during the second lockdown to take advantage of quieter roads. The rails are being removed in a bid to improve road safety after a succession of accidents - although many locals are opposed to the scheme and want history to be preserved. The council has left sections of the track in place in response and is exploring ways to preserve other sections of the rails.
In the last four weeks the tracks have been removed in phases from Custom House Quay between St Mary’s Street and South Parade, which has also been temporarily resurfaced. Temporary traffic restrictions for drainage works on Commercial Road were in place until the end of Friday December 4. Resurfacing of Commercial Road was carried out overnight, between 7pm and 6am, from Monday December 7 for five nights. This started at Lower St Alban Street and work towards King Street.
Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: “The project team has put in a tremendous effort to bring forward the work on the harbourside and complete the removal of the tracks in this area at such short notice – thank you for all your hard work. We hope that by carrying out our resurfacing on Commercial Road as night work we will keep disruption to a minimum and ensure shoppers can return to the town centre for some local Christmas shopping.”
Workers returned to Custom House Quay in the New Year, starting at South Parade on Monday January 4 and working towards the Pavilion Car Park. Roads in the area will be closed in sections:
· Custom House Quay closed from South Parade to The Pavilion Car park
· Commercial Road closed from ‘The Loop’ at Cosens Quay Car park to St Nicholas Street
· Commercial Road closed from St Nicholas Street to St Mary Street
These sections on Commercial Road, along with the length of Custom House Quay, are scheduled to be resurfaced in spring 2021.
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