Winchester MP Steve Brine has welcomed news that a new scheme will be taking place to reduce congestion at the Winnall roundabout where the A34 meets the M3 at junction 9 in Winnall.
The A34 and M3 are key routes for road users travelling between the South, the Midlands and London, and the scheme will involve signalising and extending the carriageway width to three lanes on the Easton Lane approach to the roundabout. The carriageway on the eastern side of the Winnall roundabout will also be widened to three lanes and the lanes on the southern bridge will be realigned to accommodate three lanes.
As local residents know all too well, the junction currently suffers from severe congestion at peak times. The works are aimed at reducing congestion and journey times for road users, and improving the safety of the Winnall roundabout.
These works, costing around £500,000, are part of the national Pinch Point Programme, which forms part of the UK Government's growth initiative, outlined during the Chancellor's Autumn Statement in November 2011. The main construction work is scheduled to start on Monday 1 July 2013 and is expected to take approximately eight weeks to complete.
Steve Brine said: "Ever since I was elected at the MP in 2010 I have been very vocal with Ministers about this junction. My constituents have been inconvenienced, to say the very least, by the problems this junction has caused for years now, and any investment which eases congestion, and the knock-on effect that has for Winnall especially, is welcome. That said, I see this very much as phase one of much wider works."
County Councillor Fiona Mather said: "The bottleneck in Easton Lane has long been appalling and very frustrating for residents. I welcome this announcement from the Secretary of State and thank the County Council leaders for their efforts".
Pictured; Traffic backing up, all the way to Wales Street!
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