The two days of chaos caused by the burst water main at Chalbury Corner were exacerbated by the totally unnecessary closure of Preston Road to all incoming traffic to Weymouth.

Work began on the water main some hours before rush hour traffic built up.

The relatively small area of excavation left adequate time and space for the council and/or police to install stop/go signs to permit alternating inbound and outbound single-line traffic to use the outgoing lane of Preston Road throughout the repair period.

This side of the road remained open throughout so any concern about the safety of its condition is irrelevant.

By lunch time on Wednesday, outgoing traffic was sparse, but once committed to Littlemoor Road and Preston Road east of the roundabout drivers had no choice but to continue or abandon their vehicles, turning every side road in the vicinity into a vast parking lot.

Until approximately 2 pm on Thursday, cars belonging to residents on the town side of Chalbury Corner could only be retrieved via Littlemoor, Dorchester and Beach Roads.

Does the mayhem reinforce the case for the relief road?

The two main arterial roads into Weymouth are Dorchester Road and Preston Road. Both are periodically congested at peak times. At other times both are busy, but free-flowing regardless of the time of the year.

There are also daytime periods when, despite being the only access roads to a reasonably large town, these roads are surprisingly quiet - even at the height of the season. Close one of them and traffic chaos is inevitable.

Far from providing evidence in favour of a multi-million pound relief road, the closure of Preston Road to incoming vehicles revealed the true volume of traffic trying to access Weymouth town centre.

Enjoying a lucrative income from costly parking charges and fines, the council has neither demonstrated a commitment to reducing the volume of traffic nor satisfactorily answered criticisms that the relief road will only move the problem one roundabout closer to town.

The public meeting at the Pavilion only detailed the route - no mention was made of any traffic surveys conducted to assess volume and destination of users - and questions from the audience were not permitted.

The majority of people drive. We all contribute to the problem on the roads, including the people who live on the arterial routes into Weymouth, and we do not have a divine right to travel from A to B without hindrance.

As Mr Bryson observed, the relief road is not a by-pass and will only shift the pinch point and £84+ million is an expensive and destructive way of achieving very little.

Preston Road Resident, Name and address supplied.