Out of the local area, but an update on the roadworks on the A27 in Fareham, posts about which are tagging me.
I'm aware that there have been significant delays at the beginning of the works on the A27 between Fareham and Portchester and I'm sorry if you have been caught up in them.
The work is to improve drainage, improve crossings, construct new footpaths and cycle lanes and create a bus lane approaching the Delme roundabout. It is funded by a Government grant specifically for improving sustainable transport links around Portsmouth and South East Hampshire, it's ring fenced for that purpose, so it's not an amount we could use on any other project - we either spend it on these improvements or we send it back to Government.
When we prepare traffic plans before any scheme there is an acceptance that sometimes things may not work as we expect. We have therefore been reviewing the way by which we are operating the work on a daily basis this week to do all we can to reduce the delays.
The work that's initially taking place removed one lane each way to remove the central reservation and street lighting, we have reviewed that and will work to open the westbound lane closure whenever we can. That work is being carried out as quickly as possible so that we can open two lanes westbound as soon as we can, which was the main concern when the works were proposed. We have been removing traffic management wherever and whenever we can and will continue to do so on stretches where we are not working and where it is safe to do so. There will be a significant reduction in the restrictions over the Christmas period from 30th November to 5th January.
It is though a significant piece of work and there will inevitably be delays while it is carried out. For that I am sorry, but the outcome will improve the stretch of road between Delme and Downend Road/ Shearwater Avenue. Traffic management is needed to ensure the safety of those working on the scheme and those using the road. You might see parts of the road closed with no one working on them, that will be where the road is not safe to drive along as a result of the work undertaken on it. The works restricting westbound traffic are due to be completed by the end of February and the entire scheme will run until the Summer of 2024.
There is a website for the scheme where the updates to traffic management will be updated, that's here: https://www.hants.gov.uk/.../transp.../tcfa27delmeroundabout
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