Roundabout’s multimillion revamp plan
Major overhaul in the pipeline for busy Portsbridge traffic route
A BUSY Portsmouth roundabout is set to be overhauled as part of a multimillion-pound project to improve south east Hampshire's road network.
Details of the work proposed at Portsbridge Roundabout, including changes to give buses greater priority, were outlined at two virtual public consultation events held last week.
Portsmouth City Council's cabinet member for transport, councillor Lynne Stagg, were 'bottlenecks' in the road network and that the changes could 'significantly' speed up journey times.
The overhaul of the roundabout is part of the latest phase of the South East Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme - the partnership between the city council, Hampshire County Council and Isle of Wight Council.
Together with Rudmore Roundabout, Portsbridge is one of the main focuses of the project.
It is focused on increasing the speed at which buses traverse it with new priority measures included for Hilsea Lido and its northern and southern approaches.
There will also be work to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists with a new crossing on Northern Road and the widening of the shared cycle path to the west of the roundabout.
Road islands will also be built to separate traffic and 'improve safety' for vehicles.
The work, outlined at two virtual consultation events held last week, is being funded through the £56 million Transforming Cities Fund grant awarded last year to improve transport networks for pedestrians, cyclists and buses.
Portsmouth City Council's cabinet member for transport, councillor Lynne Stagg, said the roundabout projects were a 'major' part of the overall project.
'Portsbridge and Rudmore roundabouts are two bottlenecks of our road network,' she said. 'This work will make a significant difference to travel times and to our bus services.
'One of the big problems we face at the moment is buses can be unreliable and get held up in congestion, which makes them less attractive to use.
'Once everything's done the time it takes a bus to travel between Havant and Portsmouth will be reduced by 11 minutes, which is a vast improvement.'
Earlier this month she said all of the Transforming Cities Fund projects were required to be completed by 2023 but added that this deadline could be extended by a year due to nationwide shortages in materials.