HIGHWAY chiefs have finally set a date for the start of work on a £1.45m plan to ease the New Forest's biggest traffic nightmare.

Hampshire County Council has revealed that the construction of a long-awaited new junction on the busy A326 is due to begin next March.

The right-turn facility at Colbury will make it easier for drivers heading for the Forest to join the westbound carriageway of the A35.

Highway experts say the scheme will result in more traffic using the A326 and thus reduce congestion on the notorious A337 road to Lyndhurst. Summer queues on the A337 often stretch from Lyndhurst to Cadnam, making it the biggest bottleneck in the district.

The new junction on the A326 was due to have been built last year, but has been delayed by lack of cash. Now campaigners are hoping the facility will be in place before the 2004 tourist season.

Plans to start work on the project next spring were unveiled at a meeting of the New Forest highway management advisory panel at Lyndhurst.

Hythe councillor Brian Dash said: "There will be a significant increase in traffic through Ashurst, but it will reduce the queues on the A337 from completely unacceptable to unacceptable."

The new junction will be accompanied by traffic management measures to curb the impact of extra traffic using the A35 to get to Lyndhurst.

Another 4,000 vehicles a day are expected to travel through Ashurst once the scheme has been completed.

At present southbound drivers on the A326 can join the A35 at Colbury, but the lack of a right-turn facility means they have to enter Totton, negotiate the Rushington roundabout and then double back to reach the Forest. The long detour results in many motorists shunning the route.

Thousands of drivers opt instead to approach the Forest via the A337 and Lyndhurst High Street, both of which are becoming increasingly congested.

The Hampshire-based AA welcomed the news that work on the new junction on the A326 will start next March.

AA spokesman Paul Watters said: "I'm sure it will be extremely popular with motorists. It will save them a lot of fuel and frustration."