A behind the scenes look at the M27 bridge repair works in Portsmouth

Since June there have been a number of lane closures and weekend closures around junction 12 of the M27 at the Hilsea Interchange.

Ahead of its expected completion in November, there is scheduled to be another four weekend closures beginning this weekend (Friday, September 5 at 9pm until Monday, September 8 at 6am) with two contingency weekends also booked in.

The two bridges were built in 1975 and after 50 years it are now requiring their first major repairs with expansion joints being replaced, drainage upgraded, concrete repairs, as well as waterproofing and resurfacing all taking place to ensure public safety.

Katarina Saradinova, head of scheme delivery at National Highways said: “What our inspections have shown that the concrete is delaminating, so falling away from the structure due to an increase of water. What we're trying to do is waterproof the structure so that the wear does not continue.

“We could face a lane, or even full, closures of the M27 if we weren't to repair the structure because the defects could become such that we cannot run the motorway on top.”

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While the main cause of damage has been water erosion, there has also been damage found not caused by the elements. Long known as an area where young people had congregated or rode bikes, fire damage has been found where a bike had been burnt. The area has now been boarded up to prevent access.

The closures for the repair works have, and will continue to cause, disruption for drivers, but The News’ visit to the site has revealed the gruelling work that has taken place to keep the project on track.

Although drivers wouldn't have noticed it when going past, 40 to 50 workers have been working on rotation for each weekend closure, working tirelessly in hot conditions underneath the bridge.

Andy Weeks, a project manager for VolkerLaser who are contractors at the site, said: “We work in days and nights, sometimes with 20 men at a time. Everyone thinks the sunshine is great for concrete repair but it’s not. Everything dries out so quickly and we need to make sure it doesn't absorb the water from our repair material and cause it to crack. It’s been a challenge.”

Consideration is given to the impact on drivers and the local community when planning the closures. For instance, Andy told The News it would usually have the closures planned out at the start of the project but had to wait till August when the football fixtures were released.

This weekend’s work would have ideally been followed up with a second full closure next weekend to complete that phase of works. However, with Portsmouth making the short trip to their bitter rivals Southampton on September 14 and a home game against Sheffield Wednesday on September 20, it was delayed till the end of the month to minimise disruption.

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Major works are taking place on the road this weekend, including a specialist team coming in to clear asbestos that was used in the original building of the road. While that is a known issue, the full extent of some of the damage is never known until the work is well underway.

Katarina said: “With the repair work we don’t yet know what we are going to find. Once we strip off the asphalt, then strip off the waterproofing and the top, we will do some concrete repairs, but we haven't been able to establish how much repairs we'll need to do at the top, so we will find that out at the weekend.

“However, we have got enough contingency in the planning for the weekend to make sure that we can open on Monday morning.”

Despite these short timeframe for the works to take place during the closures, there has been minimal delays on reopening of the roads. Katarina is hopeful that will continue for the remainder of the project with it currently on track to finish on time.

She said: “We are still on plan. The repairs underneath are mostly done and then we've got the four upcoming weekend closures with some contingencies in November. At the moment, weather permitting, we're on track to finish the works in November. “

The list of full weekend closures can be found here.

Here are pictures from behind the scenes of the M27 bridge repair project: