OUTRAGED residents have slammed Highways England after overnight smart motorway works has led to “countless sleepless nights”.

Overnight roadworks have been taking place at Junction 5 of the M27 in West End for the smart motorway scheme.

This has sparked outrage from residents, who say completing works at night during lockdown “has to stop”.

One West End home owner, who didn’t want to be named, said living next to the M27 is like “being in the middle of a building site” every night.

He said: “Living next to the motorway during the works is leading to countless sleepless nights, it has to stop.

“It’s so frustrating for residents, we can’t go and stay with family until the works are done because of lockdown, we can’t close the windows because of how hot it is, so what are we supposed to do?

“It’s like being in a building site. Why can’t the works be done during the day?

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Despite frustration from residents, Highways England said “every effort” is being taken to limit noise.

However Eastleigh councillor for West End South, Tim Bearder, said: “It affects the whole of West End, and while Highways England have control of the whole motorway, it’s very difficult for us to have any control over what they do.

“They really ought to put residents first. It’s very regrettable they are choosing to do very noisy work overnight.”

A spokesperson said: “We make every effort to limit the effects of construction noise for our neighbours.

“We try and avoid doing noisy work overnight, and have taken advantage of reduced traffic to close an extra lane in May to get more work done during the day.

“The work we’re doing around junction 5 near West End, uses large machinery and can only be done overnight, when traffic volumes are low enough for us to take the extra space we need. Even so, we are trying to carry out the louder activities early on in the evening.

“We appreciate living near a busy construction site is not easy, and we are grateful for people’s patience while we deliver this vital upgrade.”