MOTORISTS are being urged to allow extra time to travel between Bridport and Axminster over the next fortnight as safety improvements will mean the A35 is closed overnight.

Work started last month to improve safety at the Hunters Lodge junction on the A35 near Lyme Regis, and overnight closures will be in place from Tuesday night as work steps up to complete the scheme. The works are expected to cost around £560,000

A Highways England spokesman said: "The scheme will not only improve safety for road users, but also improve crossing facilities for pedestrians as the work will deliver reconfigured lane markings, a signalised pedestrian crossing, the installation of vehicle-activated signs in both directions, and a new, high-friction road surface.

"The closures will be in place from 8pm to 6am, with light westbound traffic diverted via Beaminster, Crewkerne and Chard, and an eastbound diversion in reverse. HGVs and caravans travelling westbound will be diverted from the A35 at Dorchester, via Yeovil and Ilminster, on roads more suitable for this type of traffic, and again with a reverse eastbound diversion.

"While the overnight closures are in place, access will be limited to residents and their visitors, with the assistance of gatemen. All other traffic will be diverted."

While the road is closed, other routine maintenance work will also be carried out at various points along that section of the A35.

The overnight closure started on Tuesday (30) and is expected to be completed by Friday June 16, in time for the summer holidays, and in the meantime Highways England advises drivers to plan their journeys and allow extra time during the work.

The notorious A35 junction, at the turning point with Lyme Road near the Hunters Lodge Inn, claimed the lives of two elderly holidaymakers in 2013 when their Vauxhall Corsa was involved in a collision with a Renault van.

After the crash, David Parker, the owner of Sea Tree House, described the major road to Lyme Regis as a ‘death trap’.

There was renewed momentum for something to be done after a 78-year-old man from Poole was killed in another fatal crash in June 2015.

Traffic lights were ruled out by Highways England after a public meeting was held.

Drivers can get up-to-the-minute travel information by phoning the Highways England Information Line on 0300 123 5000 or by visiting trafficengland.com