Twyford Road Repair Off Again as County Axes Reconstruction

2.15.59pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 12th Jan 2005

Local Campaigners Campaign for Twyford Road Reconstruction

Major repairs to one of the bumpiest roads in Hampshire - Twyford Road north out of Eastleigh town centre - have been put off again following fresh cuts in the road repair programme of Hampshire county council.

The news, which will come as a bitter disappointment to many local residents who bounce up and down the major access route, was given in a reply to Hampshire MEP and Eastleigh Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Chris Huhne.

Mr Huhne, who has been campaigning for improvements in the potholed and patched Twyford Road for nearly two years, said that the condition of the surface was now deplorable in such an important road.

"The surface of Twyford Road is now about as even as the Himalayas" said Mr Huhne. "It is astonishing that the county council is postponing work again when it admits that there is a clear and long-standing deterioration noted in the regular surveys. This is a false economy as the longer the road is left, the more expensive it will be to repair" said Mr Huhne.

In a letter to Mr Huhne, HCC Assistant Director Alan Mills admits that his department has submitted plans for a complete reconstruction of parts of Twyford Road and a resurfacing of the carriageway following 'continuing deterioration' noted over many years. Moreover, the tests done of such principal roads have shown, according to Mr Mills, that the road requires 'major maintenance' and this was scheduled for 2005-6.

The letter adds: "However, recent announcements on the available highway maintenance funding for 2005-6 indicate that there will be substantial reductions in expenditure and, although final decisions on the contents of works programmes have yet to be made, it now looks unlikely that the major maintenance works on Twyford Road will be funded."

The HCC official says that "it may be possible to carry out reconstruction and resurfacing of some of the worst sections of the road but this has yet to be confirmed". The situation may also change in late February when budgets are approved by county council members.

Mr Huhne said that Eastleigh appeared to be losing out from the count's decisions as the it was going ahead with repairs to roads in other parts of the county in preference to Eastleigh, notably the A35 in the New Forest and the A325 near the Surrey border.

Mr Huhne said there was possibly better news for another Twyford Road improvement, namely a pedestrian crossing near the BP garage. Eastleigh Borough council will now conduct a survey to see if the demand is high enough to press the county for a controlled crossing.