Whitehill and Bordon relief road

The road is a total length of about 2.6 miles (4.1km) and except for a short section of dual carriageway at the northern end and comprises of a two way single carriageway with separate provision for pedestrians and cyclists.
The route of the road starts to the north of Bordon, on the A325 Farnham Road pass through the MOD area to the west of the town and reconnect with the A325 to the south at the A325 Petersfield Road, Liphook Road and Firgrove Road junction in Whitehill.

Whitehill and Bordon location plan

The completed Relief Road is now the A325, replacing the previous A325 through the town which was de-classified (see further information below).
The County Council gave its full approval to construct the relief road in January 2015.

Project appraisal documents 20 January 2015

Northern section of the Relief Road (Phase one)
The northern section of the Relief Road (phase one – Louisburg Avenue) was opened to the public in December 2016.

Completed phase one section

Southern section of the Relief Road (Phase two)

Hampshire County Council constructed phase two (Templars Way / Louisburg Avenue) of the Relief Road, a two mile section south of phase one, in two sections.

Phase two was completed in two sections;

Section A (Junction one to two) – opened to the public in June 2018;
Section B – junction two, to connect with Phase 1 of the relief road – opened to the public in January 2019.

Road Re-classifications

Relief Road is A325
The previous A325 from Junction 6 to Station Road is now B3002
The previous A325 from Station Road to Junction 1 is now C114
Station Road is now C176
Budds Lane is now C176

Traffic Speeds

The new Relief Road is the new A325. The speed limit of 40 mph south of junction 4 was agreed to balance both journey times in relation to the previous A325 but also restrict noise to take into account the significant amount of houses proposed adjacent to the Relief Road. Increasing traffic speed will increase noise on this road.

The road has been designed to be self-enforcing where possible. In determining traffic speeds, consultation is carried out with HCC Traffic Management Team and Hampshire Police. Their view is dependent on the road layout, use and factors such as pedestrian crossings and noise as described above. A public notice consultation period is required before speed limits can be enforced which HCC undertook prior to opening of the road.

Average traffic speeds are anticipated to decrease when there are more vehicles on the road. Traffic loops have been installed in the Relief Road and we shall continue to observe traffic speeds as the road settles and vehicle numbers increase.

Street Lighting

Areas such as junctions and Roundabouts are lit within what is known as a conflict area (meaning, junctions / intersections and roundabouts and their approaches which have areas of traffic and other road users such as pedestrians and cyclists where vision needs to be clear for safety purposes.

In addition, Street lighting can increase traffic speeds as the forward visibility for drivers is greater than unlit sections. It is HCC policy to limit street lighting only where considered necessary in accordance with our dark sky policy to reduce impacts on the environment and construction and maintenance / running costs.

Traffic Signals / Roundabouts

Roundabouts promote a continuous flow of traffic. Unlike traffic signals, drivers do not have to wait for a green light at a roundabout to get through the junction. Traffic is not required to stop – only give-way – so they can handle more traffic in the same amount of time. In general, roundabouts are the less expensive option regarding construction and future maintenance.

Traffic signal junctions, at junctions 2 and 3 are provided due to restricted land available and are more flexible in dealing with congestion where there are high numbers of traffic in conflicting directions. These junctions also deal with pedestrian and cycle movements from the Green Loop and Hogmoor Road.