BEAMINSTER Tunnel has re-opened more than a year after it collapsed and claimed the lives of two people.

Nearby residents and Dorset county councillor Rebecca Knox gathered to walk through the tunnel, following a £2.1million council repair project lasting nearly 13 months.

A small queue of traffic built up as motorists waited to pass through the tunnel on the A3066 for the first time since July 7, 2012, when there was a landslide at the north end triggered by a deluge of torrential rain.

Rosemary Snell, 62, from Misterton, and Michael Rolfe, 72, from Fivehead, died when the car they were travelling in was engulfed by a mudslide.

The community was left shell-shocked after their bodies were found 10 days later in a car crushed under hundreds of tonnes of mud, brick and debris.

Maggie Warnett, 69, president of Beaminster WI, who lives close to the north side of the tunnel, was there to see the re-opening.

She said: “It was a terrible thing to happen and it has taken a long time to move forward from this tragedy, which we will never forget.

“The guys have worked tirelessly to get the work done and I’m ecstatic to see the tunnel open again.”

Although the road is re-open to two-way traffic, temporary traffic signals may be used to allow the contractors to finish off work at non-peak times.

Councillor Knox said she hopes the re-opening gives trade a boost in Beaminster, after months of traffic diversions.

She said: “This is the news I wanted to give residents a year ago.

“The tragedy from the collapse was a very sad time and when the tunnel closed I don’t think anyone realised how much needed to be done.

“It’s good for the community, who can get back to using the route they used to get to work, to school and to shop.”

Mike Harden, group manager for Dorset County Council, said 1,000 soil nails have stabilised the tunnel.

He said: “We had to come up with a solution that will last the period of time.”

Beaminster resident Douglas Beazer, 65, has taken more than 1,000 pictures of the tunnel throughout the repair project, which will go on display in Beaminster Museum.

He said: “I’m very pleased the town and locality can get back to normal.

“But we still have to remember what happened.

“It’s nice to have a low-key opening with no big ceremony and get that traffic flowing back into town.”

Broadwindsor resident Jean Frampton, 74, has links to the tunnel going back to 1940.

She said: “My grandfather would drive his sheep from Broadwindsor to Dorchester across the tunnel.

“It feels wonderful to see the tunnel open again. It is something I couldn’t wait to see happen.”

Irene Francis, 73, of Drimpton, also has historic links with Beaminster Tunnel, having lived nearby until she was in her 30s.

She said: “My father was a farmer and we were always using the tunnel.

“It feels lovely seeing it open again.”