Portsmouth council leader '˜furious' that smart motorway work on M27 will not reach city

THE COUNCIL leader says she is '˜furious' that the proposed new Â£244m smart motorway scheme for the M27 will not run to Portsmouth.

By The Newsroom

Published 30th Jun 2017, 07:00 BST

Updated 12th Sep 2017, 12:16 BST

Highways England is set to start upgrading the M27 between Junctions 4 and 11 in March to four lanes via turning the hard shoulder into a permanent running lane.

The road between Junctions 11 (Fareham Central) and Junction 12 (Portsmouth) is already partially expanded to four lanes but not to the full length of the motorway’s terminus at Junction 12.

Councillor Donna Jones said: ‘I am appalled to see that the expansion will not run to Portsmouth despite this segment being an accident black spot on the motorway.

‘I am flabbergasted that the expansion will not connect from Southampton to Portsmouth and I will be making a big fuss about this to see if we can look to have a future phase upgrade that segment.’

Cllr Jones added that with the expansion work beginning at Junction 4, there is still time for Highways England to alter the plans for the segment to Junction 12.