WORK on a major new relief road in East Hampshire is back in the fast lane. Having encountered a hiccup or two, Hampshire County Council has said new contractor Skanska is now on site.

Their priority now is to finish the southern section of the new road linking Whitehill and Bordon with Farnham – from the A325 Firgrove Road roundabout to junction two.

That will allow access to the first phase of new housing nearby. The recent delays came following the widely-publicised financial collapse of Carillion, which had been delivering the project.

Added to the complications caused by heavy snowfalls and ice over the last few weeks, and some people took to social media to ask what was going on.

Lindford resident Michael Steevens said it “looks like a complete farce at the moment”, adding he wouldn’t be surprised to see new contractors charging more for the work.

Former Bordon Area Action Group (BAAG) member Lynda Skinner had reservations after the “first few meetings” about the project.

“The council (who most don’t or ever have lived here) have made so many bad decisions it’s not true,” she added.

“I’ve been to several council planning meetings and you have to go to believe what happens. I have no faith in them representing the residents of Whitehill and Bordon.”

But a more sympathetic Wendy Sargent said: “Why don’t we all stop moaning and give the council a break.

“A project of this size can’t be completed in five minutes and just maybe when it is eventually finished we will all be surprised.”

Last month the council said there would be no additional cost to the scheme as it called on new contractors to finish the work – with funds being ‘reallocated’.

The project budget is £27million and, before Carillion’s collapse, was three months ahead of schedule.

To the north of the town, phase one of the road is finished. Phase two will be completed in two sections:

•Section A - junction one to two by spring 2018

•Section B - junction two, to the northern section of the relief road by the autumn.

Despite delays, these deadlines remain active on the county council’s website. The new road will work in tandem with the A325, which will be subject to changes to make it slower and more suitable for pedestrians, bikes and other non-motorist users.

It will reduce east-west severance and encourage through-traffic away from the new town centre.