MORE than 550 miles of roadworks will be lifted across the country for Easter - but traffic cones will continue to slow drivers on Hampshire's motorways.

Almost all of the Highways Agency's 9,534-mile road network will be clear in time for the four-day weekend, including schemes on the south's main routes and London's M25.

And South West Trains say there will be no major engineering works on its network.

But drivers travelling through some of Hampshire's busiest roads will still face reduced speed limits and narrow lanes as traffic cones remain in place at junctions three and five of the M27 atSouthampton and Eastleigh, the M271 between Southampton and Romsey and junction six of the M3 at Basingstoke.

The Highways Agency said the restrictions must stay in place in Hampshire for safety reasons due to open excavations on verges.

However, workers will complete 371 miles of roadworks at 147 locations before Good Friday, including on the M25 near West Drayton and Leatherhead and on the A27 at Emsworth, Fontwell, Arundel and the Offington Roundabout in Chichester.

A further 62 miles of works and lane restrictions will be temporarily removed across 201 miles of carriageway between 6am on April 2 and the early hours of April 7. These sites include the M25's junctions 21-20 near Watford and junctions 27-28 and 29-28 near Brentwood.

Simon Sheldon-Wilson of the Highways Agency said: “This Easter, we're helping drivers with their journeys by clearing roadworks across the majority of motorways and major A-roads in England.

“By suspending or completing roadworks, more lanes will be open and many of the associated speed restrictions will be lifted.

“We've worked closely with other transport providers to ensure our network can cope with increased demand due to closures on the railways, and we're pleased to say that 96.8 per cent of our roads will be free of work to help Easter road trips go smoothly.”

Drivers are still advised to plan their journeys and check for traffic and travel updates and weather forecasts before setting off.