A MAJOR motorway is shutting down from today for 11 days over Christmas and New Year – with a diversion put in place.
The M27 will be closed in both directions between Junction 9 (Whiteley) and Junction 11 (Fareham) from 8pm on December 24 through to 4am on January 4 – in a bid to allow construction of a new underpass at Junction 10.
During this time, highway authorities expect significant disruption and are urging motorists to plan their festive journeys carefully beforehand.
While the road is closed, engineers will slide an 8,500‑tonne pre‑built concrete box into place and then rebuild the carriageway over it.
As that happens, a diversion will route traffic onto the A27 with advance warning signs placed as far afield as the M25 and M4.
Westbound drivers will still be able to exit at Junction 11 for Fareham and Gosport and at Junction 9 for Whiteley and Park Gate, but there will be no westbound entry at Junction 11 towards Southampton or the A32 (Alton), and there will be no eastbound entry at Junction 9 towards Portsmouth.
Andrew Jackson, program director from National highways, said: “We are working alongside Hampshire County Council to make sure we have plenty of preparation in place to keep that diversion open.”
Cllr Lulu Bowerman, cabinet member for highways at Hampshire County Council, added: “We are getting ready for the Christmas closure.
“We are well aware that this would disrupt peoples’ Christmas travel plans, so I’m asking, if possible, to think carefully about how you travel over the Christmas period.
“Traffic would be less, but there would still be some traffic.
“We really appreciate everybody’s patience with this closure, but this would mean that we avoid months of roadworks and disruption on the M27, and the work could get completed on January 4.”
Once complete, the underpass will create four new lanes under the M27 as well three new slip roads.
What’s more, a new dual carriageway with four roundabouts will be created to link the slip roads to the existing road network – forming a ‘free flowing link’ at junction 10.
Walking and cycle paths, and new bridleways will also be created, with the cabinet member for highways adding: “We’ve thought about everyone.”
This comes as police have issued an alert over a massive mistake Brits are making when defrosting their cars this winter.
The error could leave motorists at risk of losing their vehicles and potentially thousands of pounds.
Officers sounded the alarm after three motors were swiped in under an hour in Fife in a spate of so-called “frost-jacking”, where thieves pounce on cars left running to clear frozen windscreens.
According to the BBC, the thefts happened on Friday morning outside homes in Glenrothes, Kinghorn and Kirkcaldy as temperatures plunged.
All three vehicles had been left unattended with their engines running, making them easy pickings for opportunistic crooks.
