DRAINAGE works will soon be carried out in and around Basingstoke with the county council set to deliver an increase in planned maintenance work.

Hampshire County Council (HCC) says its highways teams will soon be out across the county again to deliver a range of work including the resurfacing of roads and footways and drainage schemes to make Hampshire’s road network more resilient.

The works includes a pair of drainage schemes in Old Basing plus further projects in Dummer and Ellisfield.

Councillor Rob Humby, deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and environment, says he is confident that ‘effective social distancing can be achieved’ while the work is carried out.

He said: “We are looking to increase the amount of planned highways maintenance carried out now that the supply chain is starting up again, and new processes and procedures are in place to protect the workforce and residents.

“Now we have confidence that effective social distancing can be achieved, we aim to use this quiet time on the roads to carry out more maintenance work, ready for when businesses and schools open up again.

“Our commitment to safe working remains, and I want to reassure Hampshire’s residents and business that we will do all we can to ensure the roads are ready for their return.”

All highways maintenance work on Hampshire’s roads is carried out in line with the Construction Leadership Council’s site operation procedures, which is based on Public Health England guidance.

Cllr Humby added: “Looking after Hampshire’s network of over 5,500 miles of road is one of our top priorities. Our planned maintenance programme, Operation Resilience, is a long-term strategy designed to ensure Hampshire’s road network is more resilient to the impact of heavy traffic and weather.

“We experienced a very wet and stormy winter earlier this year, which caused additional deterioration to the road surfaces and damage to drainage systems so there’s a significant job to be done to repair this.

“We estimate the damage will cost in the region of £12-15 million to restore the roads just to the state they were in before the winter.”

HCC invests an additional £10 million each year in Operation Resilience and for this financial year an additional £5 million of investment has also been agreed to ensure more sites can be treated.

Some of the first schemes scheduled to start across Hampshire’s districts over the coming weeks include:

Basingstoke and Deane

Down Street, Dummer: Drainage scheme to alleviate surface water flooding on the road. A full road closure is required for the works close to the Queen public house.

Roentgen Road, Basingstoke: Drainage scheme to alleviate surface water on the roads adjacent to an industrial park which is currently experiencing significantly reduced traffic volumes.

Milkingpen Lane, Basingstoke: Drainage scheme to alleviate surface water during a time of significantly reduced traffic volumes. These works will require a 24 hour road closure.

Berrydown Lane, Ellisfield: Drainage scheme to alleviate surface water on the roads following support from Ellisfield Parish Council in carrying out extensive site clearance. This scheme involves some road closures and temporary traffic lights during weekday working hours.

East Hampshire

School Road, Rowledge, near Farnham: A completion of a scheme to improve the footway outside Rowledge Church of England School. Undertaking these works now will reduce disruption going forward. Works are due to be complete in another six weeks and will involve a full road closure.

Hart

Rosemary Lane, Blackwater: A full road closure is needed to carry out this drainage Scheme to alleviate surface water on the roads.

Hampshire residents can find out more about roadworks taking place across the county at www.roadworks.org