You may have noticed that work is being carried out in the balancing pond next to Jurassic roundabout.
Work is underway to construct a landmark sculpture for Weymouth.
Artist Richard Harris has created the sculpture titled ‘Jurassic Stones’. The picture above shows an artist impression of the sculpture.
August is a key month for the project – final drainage is being put in, and we aim to have the tarmac in place from the Ridgeway to Littlemoor bridge by the end of the month.
We will have finished Chapel Lane bridge, Southdown Ridge bridge and Lorton Lane bridge (apart from the final planting of trees and shrubs, which will all start in early winter). We’ll also have finished all the work that can currently be done on the Ridgeway bridge.
Work is well underway on the remaining four roundabouts for the scheme, and the picture shows the smallest of these – the roundabout leading to the Park and Ride.
We’re also finishing major earth moving for the project. ‘Mount Lodmoor’, the large pile of earth you can see in this picture, is the final cover layer for Lodmoor landfill and the Park and Ride site.
June was a good month for the project, with fine weather meaning the bulk earth moving for the project has been finished.
During July the earthworks will be ‘trimmed’ to get the final levels for embankments and roundabouts correct. The main areas for this are Ridgeway, the balancing ponds at Littlemoor and the southern part of the scheme by Manor Railway bridge, Two Mile Coppice and Lodmoor. (more…)
The walk from Upwey Station has got easier for many locals in Littlemoor, as Southdown Ridge bridge is now open for pedestrians and the longer diversion route around the site can be closed.
Work to complete top-soiling and bridge finishings is ongoing, but walkers will be able to use the bridge while this work is done.
Dry weather means that we can get on with completing footpaths and cycleways for the scheme. Kerbings have been laid on the new footpath and cycleway from Upwey Station to the new Southdown Ridge bridge.
This route should be open to the public in early May, meaning that people will no longer have to walk around the diversion on Southdown Ridge. A little further south, the Lorton Lane bridge should also be open in May.
We spoke to Vix Hughes from Oxford Archaeology at the exhibition in Weymouth to find out more about the significance of the Iron Age settlement discovered at Southdown Ridge.
Vix was in charge of the Southdown excavation, which took place last summer.
Southdown Ridge bridge is now being backfilled with earth behind the bridge arches.
Backfilling will build up the level of the ground either side of the bridge to make sure that the cycleway and bridleway is level.
In the autumn, the bridge will be planted to make a continuous line of vegetation from one side to the other.
Work started this week to build the new cycleway and bridleway that will lead from Upwey Station to the new Southdown Ridge bridge.
Pedestrians and riders are still able to use the existing route from Upwey Station to the top of Southdown Ridge, but are being asked to keep clear of the cordoned off construction works lower down the slope.
The new section of bridleway, shown in green hatching, should be completed by mid spring, and Southdown Ridge bridge will be completed before summer.
In the last 12 months around 1.6 million tonnes of earth, chalk and clay has been moved around the relief road scheme, and all of it has been reused on site.
Ridgeway has provided chalk for the high embankments and for the sub base layers of the road, and hard materials like Corallian stone from Southdown Ridge have been crushed on site ready for reuse.
All of the arches for the Southdown Ridge bridge were erected before Christmas. The arches stand out at the moment because they are not yet backfilled.
By the end of this spring, earthworks will cover the arches to match the level of the ground on either side. This earth will then be planted to blend the bridge into the landscape.
Weymouth Relief Road
Weymouth Relief Road 
