THE A31 widening scheme in Ringwood is "on track" to be completed by the end of November. 

That is the message from National Highways as it prepares to put the finishing touches to the scheme who also thanked the local community for their patience during the works.

Project manager Dan Kittredge said: “I am pleased to confirm that the scheme is on track to be completed by November 30 as planned. We would like to thank the people of Ringwood and the surrounding area for their patience whilst we have delivered this challenging scheme.

“The A31 is one of the region's most important roads connecting Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset, a vital route every day for work journeys and home deliveries, visits to friends and family, and the movement of goods and services. The improved route at A31 Ringwood will be more reliable, reducing journey times and providing capacity for future traffic growth.”

At the weekend, National Highways completed the final carriageway switchover – removing the contraflow system – which saw westbound traffic travel over the new bridges for the first time.

The A31 provides the main route from Hampshire to Dorset, through the New Forest and the aim of the scheme is to reduce congestion, increase capacity for local traffic and improve safety.

The outside lane westbound and the two outside lanes of the eastbound carriageway will remain closed to complete work in the central reserve including drainage work, road surfacing and installing new safety barriers.

The A31 at Ringwood forms part of the government’s £15.2bn Road Investment Strategy to be delivered between 2020 to 2025.

Under the plans, the westbound carriageway has been widened from two lanes to three between the Ringwood and Verwood junctions, which National Highways says, provides much needed road capacity and considerably reducing congestion on this stretch of road.  

The work also included the replacement of the two bridges on the westbound carriageway which cross the River Avon and the Bickerley Millstream, which has also been widened to three lanes.

Changes have also been made to improve safety and access for cyclists and walkers.

Works started on the scheme back on March 31, 2021.