MAJOR road improvements are due to be made to the Brighton Hill Roundabout in Basingstoke next week.

Milestone Infrastructure Limited has been appointed by Hampshire County Council to upgrade Brighton Hill, with work on the £20 million scheme finally set to start on Monday, January 24.

The scheme, which will see two years of works, will see traffic lights placed on all arms and the subways filled in, to be replaced by surface toucan crossings.

READ MORE: Brighton Hill roundabout works delayed until January 2022

Cllr Rob Humby, deputy leader of Hampshire County Council and executive lead member for economy, transport and environment, said: “Our Highways Team have worked closely with developers and service providers to phase the work to help to mitigate and reduce congestion on local roads. We will of course continue to work with these partners to ensure every effort is made to minimise traffic disruption across the local highway network."

As part of the scheme, the first activities on-site will include vegetation and tree removal. Replanting of trees will take place throughout the scheme, which the council hope will give increased canopy cover and a more varied and sustainable range of species.

SEE MORE: Work to start on Brighton Hill roundabout later this year after council approves plans

Cllr Humby added: “Brighton Hill Roundabout is a key junction on the A30 South West Corridor and congestion at peak travel times is significant. This will be further exacerbated by future increases in travel along the corridor, and traffic growth associated with developments identified in Basingstoke’s local plan.

"The planned improvements will help to ease congestion, improve access in and out of Basingstoke and enable economic growth. The improvements will build on and complement those made to the Winchester Road roundabout and pave the way for further potential improvements on the corridor, including dedicated cycleways, reducing bus journey times and targeted road capacity improvements.”

The £20 million scheme has been funded by the EM3 Local Enterprise Partnership’s Local Growth Fund, and Hampshire County Council.

Kevin Travers, enterprise M3 LEP’s head of infrastructure, transport and place, added: “We are delivering our Recovery and Renewal Action Plan to support the local economy in strengthening and refocussing as we emerge from the pandemic and key infrastructure that maximises travel opportunities remains an integral part of this.

"Improved connectivity is key to improving productivity and reigniting our economy in ways that maximise the benefit for people and places. The Brighton Hill project demonstrates one of the many approaches to how, with our partners, we can achieve this.

“Along with other improvements along the A30 corridor, it will support the creation of employment opportunities in Basing View as part of our Enterprise Zone as well as facilitate delivery of new homes in the area. This new roundabout is a key project to kick-starting improvements to quality of life for people who live and work in Basingstoke.”

From January 24 the standard working hours for the appointed contractor, Milestone Infrastructure Limited, will be 7.30am-6.00pm. There is likely to be traffic management in place to provide a safe working space for the workforce.

During peak hours, which include 6.30am-9.30am and 4.00pm-6.00pm, all lanes will remain open on the A30 through the Brighton Hill Roundabout. The other entries (Western Way/The Harrow Way/Brighton Way/Winchester Rd) will see traffic reduced to single lanes.

During other hours traffic could be reduced to single lanes on all arms of the roundabout.

Pedestrian diversions will be in place for the duration of the work and the safer routes to schools team will be working with schools to provide support.

For more information, visit: www.hants.gov.uk/transport/transportschemes/A30brightonhillroundabout