A 20-YEAR campaign to ease the daily gridlock at a "nightmare" traffic blackspot has received a major boost from a Government minister.
A group spearheaded by Reigate MP Crispin Blunt met transport minister Stephen Hammond last week to find a solution to ongoing problems at Hooley's A23 and M23 interchange.
Long queues are commonplace, with drivers coming from Redhill who want to go southbound on the motorway being forced to perform U-turns on the busy Brighton Road.
The group – made up of Surrey politicians, residents and businesspeople – has long been calling for a roundabout to be installed at the site, with members frustrated that public consultations in 1995 and 2003 produced nothing.
But Mr Hammond has now ordered the Highways Agency to work with campaigners to calculate the potential cost of the scheme.
Group member John Goldney, of Glebe Road, Hooley, told the Mirror: "We, as the residents, would like to see this resolved.
"Everyone recognises there is a problem. The traffic over the years has got worse and worse."
With new housing developments such as Merstham's Watercolour estate bringing more cars to the area, Mr Goldney is adamant something must be done.
The problem stems from plans drawn up in the 1970s to extend the M23 into Croydon, which never materialised.
"I will pursue whichever avenue leads to the swiftest, and fullest, resolution," said Mr Blunt after the meeting on December 18.
Initial projections by the Highways Agency suggested the installation of a roundabout – the preferred solution – would not be cost-effective. But in 2008 new calculations meant that decision was reversed.
Now campaigners must see if the scheme falls below the £10 million threshold to qualify for the agency's "pinch point" funding.
If not, the scheme must enter the queue for funding as a major national project.
Mr Blunt, who expressed concerns at the agency's changing funding predictions, said he was looking forward to getting to work on the project.
"I have always been suspicious the Highways Agency's figures haven't been very robust," he said.
"We want to see how they come to their numbers."
The Highways Agency had not responded as the Mirror went to press. A decision on the project is expected in March.
