A MAJOR junction built to ease summer gridlock in the New Forest isn't working.

Critics say the recently opened right-turn facility on the A326 at Colbury has done nothing to cut traffic congestion in the centre of Lyndhurst.

Vehicles are continuing to stream down the narrow High Street - recently branded one of the most polluted places in Hampshire.

The new junction was built after complaints about the huge number of drivers coming off the M27 at Junction 1 near Cadnam and taking the A337 Cadnam to Lyndhurst road to enter the Forest.

Highway chiefs vowed to ease the pressure on the A337 by providing drivers with an alternative route.

The long-awaited right-turn facility, which opened last month, aims to encourage more motorists to come off the M27 at Junction 2 near Ower and use the A326 and the A35 to reach their destination.

But the vast majority of drivers are continuing to clog the A337.

Lyndhurst councillor Pat Wyeth said: "We haven't noticed any significant decrease in the amount of traffic coming down from Cadnam."

Cllr Wyeth referred to figures recently released by environmental experts, who say Lyndhurst High Street is one of six areas in Hampshire where air quality is particularly poor.

She added: "What's especially worrying is that the High Street is the main walkway used by pupils going to from the infant school."

Huge tailbacks built up on the A337 again at the weekend as hundreds of families flocked to the Forest.

Clive Archer, chairman of Lyndhurst Chamber of Commerce, said: "The situation in the village centre is as bad as ever - if not worse.

"We're still getting two or three-mile queues on the road coming in from Cadnam."

Critics have called on the county council to make drivers more aware of the new junction by installing special signs at key locations.

A county council spokesman said a survey to measure the impact of the right-turn facility would not be conducted until October to prevent the figuresbeing distorted by summer traffic flows.

"We need a neutral month to get the full picture," she said. "Once the monitoring has been carried out we will know how many people are using the junction and will review our signing policy accordingly."