Gridlock hits Weymouth town centre (From Thisisdorset)

Gridlock hits Weymouth town centre

8:29am Thursday 30th October 2008

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WEYMOUTH town centre was brought to a standstill after a mechanical failure hit the Town Bridge.

Drivers who have already faced a week of hold-ups due to traffic control on the bridge were plunged into gridlock after problems with the lifting gear.

Tailbacks in town were exacerbated yesterday by the closure of Littlemoor Road which was blocked for several hours due to an accident. No one was seriously injured, say police.

The Town Bridge developed a fault following the midday lift. During closing the two sides of the bridge failed to lock together, leaving a slight gap in the middle.

There were bizarre scenes as workmen prised open the barriers just enough to allow crowds to cross.

But the bridge remained closed to traffic until the problem was fixed, causing a major jam in the town centre.

Steve Bithell, the manager of Blondz hairdressing salon, said he had seen traffic wardens turning cars away from the bridge after the problem began.

And Weyline Taxis day manager John Sapsford said: “It was traffic chaos.

“One of my drivers was stuck at the bridge when it broke down and was warned to turn around or she could be stuck there for anything up to two hours.

“The traffic was backed up right through the town and it left everybody struggling.”

A spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council said the fault was nothing to do with the current works on the bridge, which have meant traffic signals and single-lane traffic over the bridge as work is carried out to resurface the footways.

She said: “It was nothing to do with the roadworks, it was a problem with the interlocking system when the bridge drops down.

“There are certain sensors that detect when the two sides don’t interlock so when there’s a problem the barriers don’t come up.”

Engineers from Dorset County Council dispatched engineers to fix the fault and the bridge was reopened after an hour.

There was further traffic chaos when, at around the same time, a collision in Littlemoor Road caused the road to be closed.

The two-vehicle collision, which involved a 33-year-old woman driving a blue Peugeot 206 and a 43-year-old man driving a white Vauxhall Astravan, was between the junction of Canberra Crescent and the junction of Louviers Road.

The drivers, both from the Weymouth area, were treated for slight injuries by paramedics at the scene and the man was taken to Dorset County Hospital for further check-ups.

The road was closed as police attended the scene and arranged for recovery of the vehicles. Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to contact Sergeant Dave Stroud of the road policing unit on 01305 222222.

• A white van and a car collided at a busy Dorchester junction causing a disruption to midday traffic yesterday.

Dorset Police confirmed a slight collision occurred at the junction of Albert Road and Princes Street but there were no injuries and only slight damage to the vehicles involved.

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