A31 At Ringwood Among £15bn Road Improvements

1 December 2014, 08:14 | Updated: 1 December 2014, 08:24

A section of road where a Hampshire teenager was killed last year is to be widened - as part of a £15 billion government scheme.

More than 80 road projects have been confirmed across England to tackle traffic and accident black spots, including making the A31 at Ringwood three lanes.

Improvements to Southampton's Redbridge Roundabout and several junctions and slip roads on the M27, M271 and M3 are also confirmed. The schemes also include a tunnel at the notorious bottleneck on the A303 at Stonehenge.

The money had already been announced the the government but it has now revealed how it will be spent. Labour says it's yet another re-announcement on promised road improvements as no additional money has been announced.

The full list of schemes for the South Coast are as follows:

- A31: Ringwood: widening to three lanes and junction improvements providing more capacity for local traffic; adjustments to nearby road network to provide improvements for pedestrians; addresses safety and congestion issues.

- A303: Construction of a twin-bored tunnel of at least 1.8 miles as the road passes Stonehenge, coupled with a dual carriageway bypass for Winterbourne Stoke to link the existing dual carriageway section around Amesbury with the dual carriageway at Berwick Down.

- M3: Junction 9 (Winchester/A34 interchange) to Junction 14 (M27 interchange): upgrading to smart motorway, linking with the smart motorway scheme on the M27.

- M27: Junction 4 (M3 interchange) to Junction 11 (Fareham): upgrading to smart motorway, linking with the smart motorway scheme on the M3.

- M3: Junction 9 (A34): comprehensive package of improvements, to include new links and widening and remodelling of junction 9 to allow more free-flowing connections and reduce congestion.

- M3 Junction 10 to Junction 11 (Winchester south): improvements for merging traffic to include technology, widening and lane realignment to smooth flow of traffic onto the M3 and assist flow to Southampton port.

- M3: Junction 14 (M27 interchange) to Junction 12 (Eastleigh) northbound: carriageway widening and junction reconfiguration to improve capacity through the junction.

- M27: Junction 5 (Southampton Airport) to Junction 8 (A3024): widening and signalisation of slip roads and access routes to junction 8, and replacement of rail bridges in Southampton (on local road network) to reduce pressure on the motorway.

- M27: Developer-funded improvements to M27 J10, providing access both east and west in place of the current junction layout. Helps significant housing growth around Fareham.

- M271/A35: junction improvements to provide a dedicated left turn lane for traffic leaving the M271 for Southampton Port and free flow traffic from the Port onto the M271.

- A27 Chichester Bypass: upgrading the four junctions on the Chichester bypass.