Drivers in Hampshire are stuck in nearly four-hour long queues on the A27 due to bridge repair works.
Motorists have reported being caught in traffic for hours, and one eyewitness has told ITV Meridian that ambulances have been called to the carriageway, as some drivers have been taken ill.
National Highways has closed the road, which is one of the busiest in the South, westbound between Havant and Emsworth to carry out the essential works.
It is the first of two weekend closures to repair the bridge, which includes replacing bridge joints, waterproofing, resurfacing, and replacement of the central concrete barrier. A diversion route is in place, but local roads are extremely busy.
Traffic monitoring service TomTom, reported delays of three hours and 50 minutes, as well as seven miles of queues from the A27 near Fishbourne to the exit for Warblington in Havant.
One driver told ITV Meridian they were stuck for nearly four hours, and they saw other motorists getting into difficulty. They said: “There have been people breaking down… we’ve seen at least four cars.
“We’ve seen 2 ambulances attending members of the public taken ill in the traffic.
“There have been no police, no exit options, no highways agency and reckon the traffic queue must be at least ten miles by now.”
Another motorist, who was caught in the queues this morning, described the A27 as ‘like a car park’.
They said: “We haven’t moved in over 30 minutes. The road is currently ‘like a car park’, nobody is going anywhere.”
Roads in Havant are extremely busy, with queues of over half an hour reported on almost all routes.
Other routes towards the west, including the B2148, which provides a connection between the A27 and A3(M) are also extremely busy.
The official diversion route from National Highways is as follows:
- Eastbound traffic will be diverted via Park Road South, Park Road North, B2149, Bartons Road, Horndean Road, Southleigh Road and Emsworth Road.
- Westbound traffic will follow the same route in the opposite direction.
The A27 will remain closed westbound until 6am on Monday, 16 September.
From Monday 16 September for four nights there will be overnight closures on the westbound carriageway.
An eastbound closure will then be put in place from 9pm Friday 20 September to 6am Monday 23 September
From Monday 23 September for four nights there will be overnight closures on the eastbound carriageway.
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