CONCERN among local motorists has been escalating after new safety measures on the A31, which cost Hampshire County Council £200,000, seem to have contributed to a string of accidents.

After prolonged public pressure, Hampshire County Council took the decision to install central reservation safety fencing and other safety measures on four sections of the A31, after a long history of Ôcross-overÕ accidents on the road.

One of the four sites to receive these measures is the stretch of former dual carriageway between Four Marks and Ropley. What was once dual carriageway has been reduced down to a single lane, with the other lane blocked by hatching and bollards. It is this site which is worrying local drivers.

And this concern seems to be well-founded, after four accidents were reported to traffic police in the space of just over four hours last Friday.

The first occurred at 4-30 pm, when a Renault Megane driven by a 63-year-old man from Sutton in Surrey collided with the bollards, causing damage to the front offside wing of the car. The man was uninjured in the crash.

Local traffic police received another report of an accident at 5-07 pm, from a driver who had collided with the bollards, claiming that they were unlit at the time.

A report of another accident came at 6-15 pm, and the last came at 8-37 pm, when another motorist reported that he had taken the bollards out completely.

A total of £200,000 is being spent on the measures, which it is hoped will reduce the number of accidents where vehicles have crossed over the central reservation, from one carriageway into another. The notorious road has been the subject of numerous accidents of this type in recent years, with some resulting in fatalities.

The project was initiated after concern was raised by the police about the number of cross-over accidents on the A31 between Winchester and the County Boundary with Surrey, and as a result, a detailed study was undertaken by the County Council in November 2001 with the help of the police, looking at the incidents and their locations. Work began earlier this month, and is scheduled to finish in February 2003.

Pc Eric Martin, the traffic management officer for Whitehill police, said: ÒAs a result of the casualty history at the site, Hampshire County Council, in consultation with Hampshire Police, have introduced the safety scheme.

ÒAt this particular stretch, the safety measures are designed to stop overtaking at the beginning of the old dual carriageway. This gives protection to vehicles turning right and also prevents overtaking before the straight stretch of dual carriageway.

ÒThe scheme has been properly implemented and properly signed. The people hitting the bollard are clearly overtaking on the hatching, on a road where they cannot see what is ahead.

ÒAs far as I know, the ÔDual Carriageway AheadÕ sign is still in place, because there is still a dual carriageway ahead, just not in the same place. There are also sign informing drivers that there is a ÔNew Road Layout AheadÕ, so this should act as a warning for drivers to take extra care.Ó

Former Four Marks resident Angela Edwards said: ÒI no longer live in the area, but my elderly parents have lived in Four Marks for 40 years and I am a regular visitor here. My parents live very close to the spot where the accidents happened.

ÒMy parents and I saw most of the accidents which took place last Friday, and we also saw lots and lots of other drivers have near misses. These people were lucky not to have accidents, and the could have been many more.

ÒI think the problem is that people see the ÔNew Road LayoutÕ sign and then drive past the first set of bollards, and assume that this is all thatÕs different. They then see a Dual Carriageway Ahead sign, at which point the hatching falls away because the former right hand lane becomes a filter lane for a right turn. They then pull into the right hand lane to overtake, not expecting to come up against another set of bollards.

ÒAll of the accidents so far have been fairly minor, but all it needs is for one lorry to brake hard and start skidding, and it could be a different story.

ÒMy parents are worried for peopleÕs safety and I am worried for my parentsÕ safety. We all want something done about it.Ó

A spokesman for Hampshire County Council, said: ÒThe new measures were installed by a HCC safety engineering team on Wednesday December 4, and comprise traffic islands with a keep left arrow and two bollards with reflective jackets.

ÒWe have erected a sign warning drivers of new lay-out ahead and other measures including right turn arrows.

ÒHampshire County Council engineers went out with police to assess the situation on Tuesday and can see the difficulties drivers are getting themselves into, but police are happy with the scheme which meets all regulations in terms of markings , cats eyes, etc.

ÒWe think that some drivers are not expecting to see the bollards, despite the sign warning of a new road layout - possibly regular users who are not registering the fact that the road layout is going to be different up ahead.

ÒWe are trying to counter this by coning off the right hand lane so people canÕt use it - plus a large sign is being designed and will soon be put in place showing a left hand arrow pointing straight on and right hand arrow indicating right hand turn only.

ÒWe are aware of the problem but the police are happy that the scheme is a sensible one.Ó