Motorway reopens after underpass works closure

A stretch of motorway that closed for major engineering works has fully reopened 24 hours ahead of schedule.

The M27, which has been shut in both directions between junction 11 for Fareham and junction nine for Segensworth since Christmas Eve, reopened to traffic at 04:00 GMT.

The work was part of a £100m scheme to build an underpass to access the new Welborne Garden Village, and saw an 8,500-tonne, four-lane wide structure slid into position.

A team of 130 worked round the clock through the Christmas period on the what Hampshire County Council described as a "mammoth engineering challenge".

It is the first time the so-called "box slide" method utilised during the works has been carried out in Hampshire.

After the structure, which is the length of six double decker buses, was slid 65m (213ft) along an excavated trench, the road surface was reinstated.

The authority said the "innovative, time‑saving approach" replaced what would otherwise have been many months of lane and speed restrictions, as well as overnight works.

Council leader Nick Adams-King said completing the project in eleven days was "a great achievement".

"We should be really proud the way the whole of the area has come together," he said.

"The public and private sector have worked exceptionally well to deliver a project that would normally have taken weeks and months of lane closures and delays."

Lane restrictions and a 50mph speed limit remain in place as crews complete the remaining work.

The council has been working with National Highways and contractor VolkerFitzpatrick on the project.

It was funded by the Buckland Group, the developer of Welborne Garden Village, which will eventually have 6,000 homes.

You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.