A SCHEME to widen a section of the A31 dual carriageway will begin "within the next five years", the Department for Transport has said.

The proposal to widen the road to three lanes a side at Ringwood was announced by the Coalition government before the general election in December last year as part of a £15 billion plan to invest in more than 100 new road schemes across the country.

However Highways England, the government-owned company which manages main roads - formerly known as the Highways Agency - has not released any more detailed information on when the work might take place leaving residents frustrated.

And Defra's Draft Air Quality Plan for the area, which lists schemes designed to reduce congestion and so improve air quality, has the the third lane at Ringwood marked with a start date of 2025.

Ringwood mayor Michael Thierry said: "We would very much welcome any scheme which will make the A31 safer and have been campaigning for this to happen for years now.

"I would certainly encourage them to hasten the day the work begins.

"Unfortunately the department and Highways England do not communicate with local authorities. I have residents asking what is going on with the road and I have to say 'I don't know', I may be the mayor but they don't have to tell me.

"It is very frustrating."

The work will also include junction improvements, changes to nearby roads and pedestrian safety upgrades.

Improvements to the M3 slip roads at junctions 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 are also included in the project, along with upgrades to junctions 5 & 8 of the M27.

As well as a lack of clarity over the start date of the project, the Department for Transport was unable to tell the Daily Echo how long the work is expected to take when it begins.

The stretch of the A31 between the Ashley Heath interchange and Poulner Hill sees frequent crashes of varying severity and often motorists experience long delays due to rush hour traffic.

Recent work on the A338 has led to even longer delays for westbound traffic passing Ringwood over the past few weeks. The widening scheme is intended to help reduce congestion and get traffic flowing in the area, and is also expected to reduce air pollution around Ringwood.