Stretch of motorway set for Christmas closure

Drivers are being warned that a stretch of motorway will shut for 12 days over the Christmas period.

The M27 closure between Junction 9 for Whiteley and 11 for Fareham in Hampshire is to allow an 8,500 tonne concrete four-lane wide underpass to be installed near Junction 10 for the A32 and Alton.

The work will see the pre-built underpass slid into place between a trench cut into the embankment. The motorway will then be rebuilt above.

It will shut the section of M27 in both directions from 20:00 GMT on 24 December until 04:00 on 4 January. Drivers will be diverted along the A27.

Before the underpass can be put in place, Hampshire County Council said 24,000m3 of material - which could fill about 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools - would be dug out from the embankment.

Councillor Lulu Bowerman said the one-off closure would "avoid prolonged periods of work and disruption over many months".

"Anyone planning to travel in the area over the Christmas and New Year period, especially those travelling to or from Southampton or Portsmouth, should factor the closure into their festive plans," she said.

The four-lane underpass will connect with the westbound entry and exit slip roads.

It will also have a shared footway/cycling route connecting Fareham Common to the south, and the Welborne Garden Village - a development of up to 6,000 homes - to the north of the motorway.

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