Workers are set to burn the midnight oil over the next two weeks to ensure changes to the A30 Winchester Road roundabout are completed on time.
The £4million project to completely redevelop one of Basingstoke’s major roundabouts started way back in September last year and is not due to be completely finished until the summer.
All the lanes around the central island are set to be widened in that time, as will the approach road, so as to accommodate more traffic following the A340 Ringway West or heading into the town centre.
And the latest stage of the project is now underway, with night works to resurface the roads, paint white lines to mark the widened carriageways and install new traffic lights across the site all taking place.
With work on the minor arm in Winchester Road set to finish tonight, changes to the south side of the roundabout will then go on from tomorrow until next Thursday, before north side alterations will then go on until February 21.
Road widening will begin at 7pm each day and go on through the night until 6am, although the noisiest works will take place first during the early evening, so as to not keep residents awake.
The continuation of the project, which is being coordinated by Hampshire County Council, follows the news last week that £10m had been set aside to upgrade the A30 Winchester Road from Junction 7 of the M3 into the town.
Executive member for transport at the council, Rob Humby, said: “We understand that this kind of work will cause disruption and inconvenience. “However, we will be doing everything we can to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum, and thank people for their understanding during this time.
“These works have been scheduled at night to avoid a major impact on traffic during the day at this important Basingstoke junction and to ensure the project can be completed at the earliest opportunity.”
The works, which will also see the existing drainage system at the roundabout upgraded to help congestion at peak times, come as part of a £24m road investment scheme in Basingstoke.
Staggered alterations are also due to take place over the next two years at the A340 Thornycroft roundabout, A33 Crockford roundabout, A33 Binfields roundabout and A33 Taylors Farm roundabout.
