Huge chunk of major motorway used by 140,000 cars a day to close for two weeks

Drivers have been told to prepare for major upgrade works on the M27 which will close sections of the busy motorway.

One of England’s busiest motorways is set for a major revamp as part of £83,000,000 works.

The upgrade was launched so that National Highways can relay a new low-noise surface on the motorway in Southampton between junctions J5 and J7.

The good news is that drivers will still be able to use the majority of the carriageway motorway which sees an estimated 140,000 vehicles each day.

However, the upgrade brings some road closures both during the day and overnight as the works enter the second phase for the next two weeks.

Here is when and where the M27 will be closed.

M27 slip road closures in October

To install the second phase of the new surface, the eastbound exit slip at junction J7 road will close from Tuesday evening until Saturday morning.

The junction 7 entry slip road will also close during this time.

Overnight closure from today until Saturday will also shut the junction 5 eastbound entry and exit slip roads and the junction 8 eastbound exit slip road.

This is so that National Highways can change the gradient of the slip road.

The thickness of the new surface means it’s not just a simple resurfacing job – the existing barrier systems, drainage, structures and other elements will also need an upgrade.

And this isn’t the end of it – there will be further overnight closures for another week from Saturday, October 19, across three of the junctions J5, J7 and J8.

Programme Delivery Manager Richard Scrase from National Highways said: ‘Initially we planned two full weekend closures of the exit slip road but thanks to the efforts of everyone involved we have been able to reduce this to one full closure combined with overnight works.

‘I would like to apologise in advance for any delays our work may cause. The slip road closures are essential to allow us to improve the quality of the road surface – the new low-noise surface will benefit both communities living near to the motorway and those traveling on it for many years to come.’

National Highways warned drivers that road closures can change at short notice.

If you need to travel in the area over the next two weeks, the highways authority has a handy tool to check live road closure information which can be found here.

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