Busy Gosport junction to get £290,000 upgrade

Hampshire County Council will make the changes to the junction of Anns Hill Road and Privett Road in Gosport.

The work, costing £290,000, will see a second lane introduced at the southern end of Anns Hill Road, near Gosport War Memorial Hospital, and the traffic lights upgraded.

The route is used by the Bus Rapid Transit Eclipse service, which runs between Gosport and Fareham.

The junction at Anns Hill Road was highlighted as ‘significant delay point’ on the bus route.

It is hoped the new lane southbound and the improvement of the signals will ease peak-time traffic.

All four routes off the junction, which also meets The Avenue, will have puffin crossings for pedestrians.

Safety for people crossing was one of the key changes, as between August 2010 and July 2015 there were five incidents in which people were injured.

Councillor Peter Edgar, who represents the ward on Gosport council, welcomed the improvements.

He said: ‘This is an “off-centre” junction so it has been difficult in the past to make it safe for everyone using it, especially pedestrians. We had to find a solution to make it safe and keep the traffic flow going.

‘Modern traffic techniques allow this and these changes will be a welcome for drivers and pedestrians.’

The project will be funded with £25,000 given by the Local Transport Plan, £100,000 from Gosport council and £155,000 from developers. Hampshire County Council will contribute the remaining £10,000.

Other options were considered by the county council which included putting a bus route along Anns Hill Road but the road was considered too narrow.

Making minor changes to the traffic signal configuration was also dismissed as an alternative as it would only offer short-term solutions.

Work will start in March.