IT has been branded one of the worst highways blunders in the south.

Traffic lights installed at the junction of the M27 and M271 are causing daily motorway misery for thousands of drivers.

Now motoring organisations are urging fed up drivers to take a stand and demand highways bosses make a U-turn on the traffic light and filter lane mess at junction three of the M27.

A petition has already gone up on the Number 10 website calling on the Prime Minister to intervene.

The Association of British Drivers (ABD) called the Highways Agency "incompetent and disrespectful" towards the public.

Ridiculous' It is calling on motorway users to bombard the agency with emails, letters, phone calls and petitions until it returns the filter lane that was removed as part of the "ridiculous" improvement works to the busy junction.

ABD spokesman Nigel Humphries described the blunder by the Highways Agency was "one of the worst examples in the south".

He said: "It's all to typical of their attitude to the motorists.

"It is exactly like the Highways Agency to put something in place in a cavalier fashion that doesn't work and try to justify it afterwards.

"It's ridiculous to have something in place that causes queues of traffic on a motorway. Especially one as busy as this junction where it is just dangerous to have traffic stopping at peak times."

The filter lane was replaced with traffic lights as part of works to the junction in March this year.

Since then drivers have inundated the offices of the Daily Echo with hundreds of complaints about long queues and traffic delays as vehicles heading to Southampton join the M271 from the westbound M27 carriageway.

"We would urge everyone to write into them, call them and set up petitions until they take the lights down," said Mr Humphries.

"As well as the delays the lights are causing lorries to have to stop and almost re-start their engines. This takes up a lot of extra fuel as well as the extra pollution."

"It is incompetent of the Highways Agency to think they can get away with it and they are just disrespecting the public, who they are there to help and serve," he added.

Motoring research group the RAC Foundation also criticised the Highways Agency and called for them to go back to the drawing board.

Director Edmund King said: "It isn't an exact science but if after six or seven weeks no improvement has been seen then they really should go back to the drawing board on this one."

"People don't always get things right and they have had to remove things they have put in before, especially methods of traffic calming," he said.

Outrage Public outrage at the lights has even reached 10 Downing Street with an e-petition on its website campaigning for the lights to be removed.

The petition reads: "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to remove the traffic lights at the exit of the M27 onto the M271."

Almost 100 people have so far signed up to the petition, which was created by fed up motorist Albert Barrow.

A spokesman for the Highways Agency insisted: "There are no plans for the lights to be removed."

But he said a standard review of the junction, which occurs after the installation of all new lights, would report this summer.

He added: "The recommendations that we receive would be acted upon if appropriate. As a matter of our policy would respond to any correspondence that members of the public send to us."

If you've had enough

  • To make a complaint about the traffic lights - Call the Highways Agency on 08457 504030
  • Or write to: Chief Executive, Highways Agency, 5th Floor, BuckinghamPalaceRoad, London. SW1W 9HA
  • Alternatively you can email: ha_info@highways.gsi.gov.uk
  • To sign the e-petition on 10 Downing Street website you can visit: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/m27m271.