Plans to tackle congestion in Fareham announced

Date: 17/1/2013

Hampshire County Council has announced that £160 million is to be spent on a transport investment scheme in Fareham and the surrounding area.

Newgate Lane, which has experienced heavy congestion for decades, is included in the plans and will undergo major improvements to enable a better flow of traffic, reports Portsmouth.co.uk.

In order for the proposals, which will see the council contributing £8.5 million to the scheme, to go ahead they will have to be approved by councillors at a meeting scheduled for February 21st.

Specific details have not been confirmed about the work to be carried out, but it is thought that Newgate Lane could be turned into a dual carriageway between Longfield Avenue and Speedfields Park.

Councillor Mel Kendal, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Environment and Transport, said that a large amount of consultation with the public would be undertaken before work began.

He said that the scheme is aimed at improving the road for cyclists and pedestrians as well as motorists, offering improved access to an enterprise zone situated on the site of what was once the HMS Daedalus airfield.

Mr Kendal told the news provider: "We are currently at the preliminary design stage for an improvement scheme for Newgate Lane.

"Once we have a preferred scheme for the route alignment and junction improvements, we will consult local residents, businesses and councillors to ensure we take their views into consideration when finalising the design."

Consultations are expected to take place this year so that work can begin in 2014.

Caroline Dineage, MP for Gosport, said that the improvements would benefit the Gosport peninsula too, as 20,000 people commute out of the area every day.

She added: "For years and years we couldn't get investment in the road infrastructure around Gosport because it was seen as strategically unimportant by the powers that be, but now we've got the enterprise zone we've become strategically important."

Posted by Mary Treen

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