WILL the proposed replacement Avon Causeway bridge near Sopley be a bridge too wide?

That is the question members of Dorset County Council planning committee will have to consider on Monday May 9.

The existing rusting road bridge over the River Avon is only 4.3 metres wide.

That limits vehicle flow, acts as a traffic-calming pinch point and deters some drivers from using the short cut between New Forest towns and the industrial and business areas at Bournemouth Airport and points west.

The new £700,000 bridge proposed by the county council is 8.3 metres wide and that will allow two-way traffic and a pedestrian walkway.

It will also be skewed across the river to improve alignment.

But other consultees have called for a full traffic impact assessment.

Christchurch Borough Council says the assessment should be carried out to consider the "highway/public safety implications of widening the bridge" and "the bridge should be designed to allow only a single carriageway crossing and narrowed in width".

Hampshire County Council has similar fears and adds the nearby junction with the B3347 "currently has a poor accident record and there is concern that any additional traffic to and from the Avon Causeway could worsen the situation".

New Forest District Council is concerned about increased speeds and additional traffic, and suggests that traffic calming elsewhere on the causeway road may be needed "as well as better provision for cyclists and pedestrians".

Sopley and Hurn parish councils both oppose the plan and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust says more traffic would increase pollution levels and impact on habitats.

Christchurch cycle campaigner John Vuagniaux has previously called for improved cycle safety features to be built in to the scheme.

County planning officers say a traffic impact assessment is not needed because the plan is for the replacement of an existing structure. Traffic monitoring will be carried out after completion and, if required, traffic-calming will be investigated for the remainder of the causeway.

First published: May 6