Work set to begin on new £9.5m Fareham road

Drivers in Fareham and Gosport are set to receive a boost with Hampshire County Council set to start construction on Newgate Lane South in Fareham.

The road will connect Newgate Lane to the Peel Common Roundabout and is expected to take around a year to complete.

It is hoped that the new mile-long, 7.3m wide road will effectively remove traffic heading to Gosport from the existing alignment of Newgate Lane - which can carry up to 25,000 vehicles a day.

The project is the third stage of the council's project along this corridor following the completion of works on the northern section of Newgate Lane and at the Peel Common Roundabout in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Councillor Rob Humby, executive member for transport said: 'This third stage of work will help realise our ambition to improve access to Gosport and journey time reliability on this very busy road.

'The works will better connect the Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus and are an essential component for promoting and sustaining economic growth in the area.'

The council stated the project will increase capacity with an improved alignment and a lower number of junctions and access points for people to turn in and out of, which can hold up traffic.

It will also increase capacity on the approach to Peel Common Roundabout, provide a safer signposted cycle route along the old Newgate Lane between HMS Collingwood and the Peel Common Roundabout.

Surfaces at Woodcote Lane will also be improved with bus services rerouted along the new road with new stops and crossing facilities located near Tudor Lodge, Woodcote Lane and Gosport Road.

With most of the engineering work not taking place on the existing road, the impact on Newgate Lane traffic is expected to be low although later works to construct the connections to the existing road in 2018 are expected to cause some disruption.

Cllr Humby had given the final seal of approval for the works in November.