Olympic road plan goes on display

Some residents support plans to upgrade the existing road

A series of exhibitions has gone on display showing detailed plans for a controversial relief road through Dorset ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

Some �84m has been set aside to build the road into Weymouth and Portland, set to host the sailing events. Another �18m aims to boost public transport.

Plans to build the road through protected countryside were approved by a High Court judge in August 2007.

The plans are on display across Weymouth from Saturday.

Compulsory purchase orders

Thousands of spectators and competitors are expected to descend on Weymouth and Portland when the area hosts the 2012 Olympics sailing events.

The display means local residents will get to see what potential impact the relief road will have on the area.

The relief road is set to relieve congestion on the A354 and A353

The Department for Transport (DfT) will then decide if the �84m project is value for money by the end of the year.

Last month, the government gave Dorset County Council the go-ahead to buy land through protected countryside for the road, including compulsory purchase orders.

Archaeology work also started to recover and record anything found of historical importance on the Ridgeway ahead of construction.

Environmental pressure groups fought the decision to build the road through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), but lost their legal challenge at the High Court last year.

Other plans

However many local residents and businesses have said they support the new road and that their lives have been blighted by traffic congestion on the main road into Weymouth and Portland.

Campaigners said the road will cut through ancient woodland

Other plans on display include the Weymouth Transport Package, which proposes improvements to the rail and bus interchange at Weymouth's railway station, plus improved bus services and road junctions.

Mike White, the local authority's strategic projects manager, said: "Ahead of a more detailed consultation on the package in spring 2009, we want to update residents with where we are in the process and remind the community what the project aims to achieve."

Work is set to begin in spring 2009 subject to the finance being approved.

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