Hayling Island roads chaos as broken down lorry blocks main route off island

MOTORISTS faced ‘chaos’ and delays of up to 40 minutes across Hayling Island after a road closure.
Traffic came to a standstill todayTraffic came to a standstill today
Traffic came to a standstill today

West Lane, one of the main routes on and off Hayling, was closed in both directions after a lorry struck a tree yesterday.

Traffic was redirected from West Lane along Manor Road and Havant Road – which only hours earlier had ground to a halt after a broken down van blocked the highway.

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The van has was removed shortly after 11am but traffic remained at a near-standstill following the later closure of West Lane.

The situation is so severe Hayling Police warned motorists to find ‘alternate routes’.

The force initially said: ‘The broken down vehicle on Havant Road has now been cleared and traffic is free-flowing. Please expect some residual delays but it should return to normal shortly.’

However, 15 minutes later Hayling Police issued another message on Twitter saying: ‘We have now also been made aware of an HGV stuck on West Lane.

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‘Highways are dealing but the road is currently closed while they work to move it. Please find an alternative route.’

Resident Richard Coates said his friend had been stuck in the traffic jam for 40 minutes and had ‘hardly moved’.

‘It’s chaos at the moment,’ he said. ‘It’s been like this for the last hour or so. West Lane is totally closed after a lorry tried to get down it and got trapped under a tree.’

He added: ‘Emergency services are having a major problem getting on the island particularly as the alternative route is closed.’

Police confirmed West Lane was open and ‘free flowing’ just after 2pm.

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