THE final phase of a £9.5m scheme to improve a major Hampshire road has been completed on time and within budget, civic chiefs have confirmed.

Hampshire County Council has been carrying out work to increase capacity and ease congestion on Newgate Lane, in Fareham, in a scheme which has been ongoing since 2014.

The project has seen a new road to the east of the existing HMS Collingwood to Peel Common Roundabout route constructed, with the aim of alleviating rush hour queues through increased capacity.

It links to the Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus and forms part of the council’s ‘Improving Access to Fareham and Gosport’ strategy to promote investment and employment in the area.

Councillor Rob Humby, pictured, executive member for environment and transport, said: “This is an excellent scheme and I am pleased that the work has been completed on time and within budget.”

Cllr Humby added that work will take place over the next few months to monitor the impact on traffic and noise in the area.

As previously reported, this scheme is the third and final stage of work on the Newgate Lane corridor, linking the improvements at the northern section of Newgate Lane, undertaken in 2014/15, and the Peel Common roundabout improvements from 2015/16.

Civic chiefs say around 16,000 tonnes of recycled materials – approximately the weight of the Eiffel Tower – have been used to create the road.

Now, the council will turn its attention to work on the Stubbington Bypass, which will form one of the final schemes in the package of works to improve access to Fareham and Gosport.