THE second phase of the building of Whitehill and Bordon’s £27m relief road is well under way, with the county council this week sharing statistics about the magnitude of the project.

According to Hampshire County Council, 1,400 tonnes of soil is being moved each day (the equivalent of about 280 adult elephants) from where it was dug out during the construction of phase one, in the north of the town, to the phase-two site, where it is being used to build up land.

This second-phase, two-mile stretch of road, in the west of Bordon, will pass between the Prince Philip Barracks garrison redevelopment area and the Hogmoor Inclosure.

It will include a double roundabout junction where it meets the A325 (Petersfield Road) in the south of the town. Two traffic-light controlled junctions - one to access the new garrison housing development and the second at the intersection with Oakhanger Road - will be created.

The second phase of the road will connect with the phase-one northern stretch, which runs through Louisburg Barracks.

The three-mile relief road is due to be completed by the summer of 2018. The finished project will be delivered alongside work on the A325, aimed at making it more pedestrian friendly, reducing east-west severance in Bordon and paving the way for the new town centre. The decision to take the bulk of through traffic off the A325 and run it around town is said to be integral to the success of the regeneration project.

The cost of phase two of the relief road is just over £20m and the road is being constructed and managed by Hampshire County Council, using £15.5m of the Local Growth Fund from the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership. The first phase of the road cost £6.8m.