COUNTY councillors have approved a scheme that will see the remodelling of a key junction in Bramley.

Almost half a million pounds will be spent widening Bramley Lane at the junction with Sherfield Road, close to the level crossing.

The road is a notorious bottleneck, with cars wishing to turn left often having to wait behind cars waiting to turn right whilst the barriers are down.

And after Bramley Parish Council managed to secure £185,000 in funding from Basingstoke and Deane Borough council, Cllr Rob Humby, Hampshire County Council's deputy leader, approved the initial appraisal of the project.

The plans will see an extra lane added to Bramley Lane, allowing for traffic to form two separate queues - one to turn left, and one to turn right across the railway line.

A wider central reservation on Sherfield Road will be added, with a traffic island inserted. Tactile paving for crossing points will also be inserted to both the east and west of the junction on Sherfield Road, and to the north of the junction on Bramley Lane.

Part of the junction will be resurfaced, and a new footway will be constructed along the north east of the junction.

The carriageway will be widened into the grass verge, and the loss of the tree that stands there will be mitigated with replanting.

The northbound bus stop will also have a new layby which meets the required standard.

It is expected that the works will take ten weeks. Off-peak traffic signals will be used where required, and there is the potential for up to five nights of road closures for resurfacing.