Revealing pictures show the staggering feat of putting into place 100-tonne beams on the M3

The motorway was closed in both directions to allow for 56 hours of intensive work to put in place the 40 metre, 100-tonne beams at the south side of the junction where new bridges are being created.

It forms part of the multimillion project to upgrade the junction to increase its capacity as extra homes are being built in the area, as well as allow for better traffic flows on the link to the A34.

This weekend, the A34 will be closed for 24 hours on Saturday, February 7 for more bridge work at Kingsworthy, and M3 will be closed again between junction 8 and junction 9 for the second set of beams to go in on the north side from February 13 to 16.

Once the beams are in place, construction on the new roundabout will continue over the coming months, before fully opening to traffic in summer 2028.

National Highways has said that reconfiguring the roundabout in this way at the junction will allow the M3 to be widened, enabling dedicated A34 links to be established and making it easier for freight travelling from the south coast to the Midlands and beyond.