After a week of accident crashes and tailbacks, thousands of frustrated drivers across the south are asking yet again when is something going to be done about the A31

Just two lanes wide, with no hard shoulder, the 12 miles between the end of the M27 at Cadnam and the Ashley Heath roundabout near Ringwood is among the most important - and notorious - routes in the county.

Accidents and breakdowns on the busy dual carriageway are bringing traffic to a standstill almost on a daily basis.

Highway chiefs are facing fresh calls to tackle one of the biggest bottlenecks in the region following one of the worst weeks in the history of the route.

A spate of crashes, car fires and vehicle breakdowns left drivers fuming in huge tailbacks that stretched for many miles.

But a solution seemed as far away as ever last night, with one Hampshire MP claiming: “It's just something we have to live with.”

Last January a fatal crash caused by an escaped pony left drivers stranded in their cars for seven hours while police investigated the tragedy.

But the shortage of exits and the absence of a hard shoulder mean even a relatively minor incident can cause massive hold-ups.

With nowhere to go, drivers can only sit and wait for the seemingly endless queue of vehicles in front of them to start moving.

People who live in Southampton and work in Bournemouth - or vice versa - are among the hardest hit. Their daily commute often turns into a nightmare, especially when roadworks on the M27 add to delays.

And motorists say their patience has been stretched almost to breaking point by the chaos of the past few days.

As reported in the Daily Echo, Ringwood councillor Michael Thierry has again urged the Highways Agency to reduce the speed limit in a bid to cut the number of crashes and keep the traffic flowing.

He said: “Most accidents are caused by driver error and there's less chance of that at 50mph than 70mph.

“We can't do anything about the volume of traffic or cars breaking down, but we can reduce accidents by reducing speed.”

The A31 is a key arterial route. It connects two of the biggest conurbations on the south coast and is also used by thousands of families flocking to holiday destinations in the West Country.

But despite its importance it has failed to keep pace with the relentless increase in traffic, according to many of those who use it.

They claim its outdated design has hardly changed once the original road was converted into a dual carriageway decades ago, when traffic figures were a lot lower.

Adding a hard shoulder would make it easier to remove vehicles blocking the carriageway after an accident.

But many motorists would prefer to see the creation of a third driving lane, thus making the A31 an extension of the M27.

The upgrade would doubtless solve some of the problems caused by the number of lanes suddenly dropping from three to two when travelling west.

Motorists failing to adjust their driving when switching from one type of road to another is thought to be behind many of the accidents.

But the road runs through the New Forest National Park, one of the most environmentally-sensitive parts of the UK.

Any move to widen the A31 is likely to be foiled by the conservation lobby, even though the amount of land needed is tiny compared with the Forest as a whole.

In 1989 a Government document called Roads for Prosperity said the road should be improved by adding a hard shoulder or a third lane.

But plans to upgrade the A31 and other routes across the UK were scrapped in 1994 amid funding fears and huge environmental opposition.

Last night Desmond Swayne, Tory MP for New Forest West, (above) warned that nothing was likely to change.

He said: “I don't believe that widening the A31 is a realistic possibility in the nation's smallest national park.

“In all probability it would require a private Act of Parliament - a highly uncertain procedure - and would be followed by a year of misery while a hard shoulder or additional lane was built.”

Giving motorists the news they least wanted to hear he added: “I don't see a solution. It's something we just have to live with.”

Hampshire-based motoring organisation the AA was also unable to offer any comfort to long-suffering drivers.

Paul Watters, head of roads policy, said plans to reform the Highways Agency in April next year would result in a spate of road improvement schemes.

But he added: “The change is unlikely to lead to a significant upgrade of the A31 now that it's within a national park.

“It would be difficult to provide a hard shoulder due to the limited amount of highway land between the road and the New Forest boundary.

“Perhaps where there is space an increase in emergency refuge areas would help.

“We're pessimistic that there will be support from all sides for a major upgrade but clearly it's in no-one's interest to have increasing congestion because of accidents and other incidents. Tourism and the economy suffers when key routes such as this stagnate.”

However, Cllr David Harrison, a member of the New Forest National Park Authority, (above) said widening the A31 would be “completely unacceptable”.

He added: “If upgrading it to motorway status was likely to reduce incidents there would at least be an argument for doing so.

“But we all know there are constantly incidents and tailbacks on our motorways. The outcome of spending huge amounts of public money (on the A31) would be further damage our precious national park, with no gain in terms of less congestion.

“I think a much better approach would be a focus on trying to reduce accidents.

“Excessive speed is very often a factor in serious crashes and there are more measures that could and should be taken to deter this poor driving.

“Similarly, if more drivers could be encouraged not to tail-gate, that too would reduce accidents.”

As reported in the Daily Echo, the Government has already rejected calls to cut the 70mph limit after taking advice from the Highway Agency, which claimed that most accidents were not speed-related.

But the Agency has installed a large number of signs that aim to improve lane discipline and make motorists more aware of slip roads.

Last night a spokesman said the organisation recognised the importance of the A31 and was committed to a long-term investment programme. However, he confirmed there were no plans to add a hard shoulder or convert it into a motorway.

But with traffic continuing to increase the problems on the A31 - and the accompanying demands for action - are set to grow.