M27 closure planned as part of multimillion works to create a new junction 10 - when

It comes after funding for the £100m scheme was finally secured to create the new junction as part of the infrastructure to support the new 6,000-home town of Welborne being built on land between Fareham and Wickham.

As previously reported by The News, a new motorway underpass will be created as well as three new slip roads to the west of the existing M27 Junction 10, creating an ‘all moves’ junction for the first time since the M27 was built. A new dual carriageway will also be built to link the new slip roads to the existing road network.  The current layout only allows drivers to join the M27 eastbound – towards Portsmouth – and leave it westbound. Officials announced yesterday (Tuesday, October 22) that the Buckland Group, the developer of Welborne Garden Village, and Homes England had stepped in to plug the funding gap to pay for the project after National Highways and the Department of Transport (DfT) but said it would not fund it.

This means a timetable of works can now be agreed with Hampshire County Council, which is overseeing the project, giving advance warning that the construction will require the closure of the M27.

It has pencilled in the Christmas week of 2025 which it says is a time which should cause the least amount of disruption.

It said: Over the Christmas period in 2025, a new underpass will be installed under the M27 just west of the existing A32 overbridge. The underpass will be pre-constructed as a concrete box on land next to the M27 and then slid into position using an innovative ‘boxslide’ engineering approach, significantly shortening the construction time and reducing disruption to motorway users.

“This will require a full closure of the M27 between Junction 9 and 11 over the 2025 Christmas week next year when traffic levels are lower. Closure dates and travel advice will be provided in advance of this important phase of the scheme once the work plans are finalised.” Visit our newsletter page to sign up for free Portsmouth news and sport emails

Meanwhile, ongoing over-night closures for the preparatory work on the A32 and M27 Junction 10 east-bound on-slip road, and westbound exit slip road, remain in place until Thursday, October 24. 

Regular updates about the scheme including travel impacts will be available from Hampshire County Council’s website https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/transportschemes/m27junction10 – and through Hampshire County Council’s social media accounts.

People can sign up for email updates via these webpages.