ONE of Hampshire’s busiest dual carriageways is at the centre of a £450,000 scheme to make the route safer.
The Highways Agency is planning to replace some of the fencing beside the A31 after a spate of incidents involving ponies escaping from roadside enclosures between Cadnam and Ringwood.
The three-phase scheme is due to start next month, with work being done at night in a bid to reduce disruption to traffic.
It comes a year after motorcyclist Daniel Robins, 31, (below) who had recently moved from Hardley to Bournemouth, was killed in a collision with a pony.
As reported in the Daily Echo, the crash resulted in seven hours of gridlock, with hundreds of motorists stranded in their cars with no access to food, water or toilets.
However, the Highways Agency said the fencing scheme was part of a national maintenance programme and had not been sparked by Mr Robins’s death.
The collision occurred near Ringwood but an investigation failed to pinpoint the spot where the pony got on to the carriageway.
The New Forest Verderers have had to deal with several incidents involving livestock straying into the path of traffic on the A31.
Sue Westwood, clerk to the Verderers said: “Nine times out of ten we manage to get the animals back without anyone being hurt but there have been accidents in the past.
“We’re very hopeful that this work will represent a considerable improvement.”
The Official Verderer, Dominic May, said the scheme included the westbound carriageway between Junction 1 at Cadnam and the Mogshade Underpass.
Work would also be carried out on the eastbound carriageway between Mogshade and a point 300 metres west of Stoney Cross.
“This is the next step towards the whole of the A31 fencing eventually being constructed of post and rail rather than the present post and wire,” added Mr May.
“In addition, vegetation clearance is to take place on the westbound carriageway.
“This will help with inspections of the fencing and therefore improve safety on the road. A reduction of gorse and other coarse herbage will reduce the risk of fire.
“Most of the work will be carried out at night to avoid too much disruption to traffic.”
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