Huge £290million scheme to improve busy M3 interchange at Winchester is approved

The government has announced today (March 13) that huge improvements will be made to junction 9 of the M3 at Winchester which will help to improve local infrastructure as part of plans to build 2,000 new homes in the area.

The busy junction leads onto the A34 towards the north and connects back towards the A272 in the south, and is a popular north to south route for motorists travelling from the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire area.

The government said the road scheme will significantly speed up journey times, reducing the current bottleneck, and saving commuters, businesses, and tourists hundreds of hours each week. Peak time journeys through the junction to the A272 into Winchester will be almost 30 per cent faster. Between the M3 and A34, drivers will save more than 20 per cent of their overall journey time during peak hours.

The new design will also improve safety; by extending the southbound slip road onto the M3 so traffic has more time to join the motorway.

To mark this significant landmark for drivers and businesses in Hampshire, the Transport Secretary, visited the M3 J9 to mark the approval of the scheme and understand its impact on the local economy.

Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said: “Anyone who uses this junction knows how frustrating it can be. But our £290m investment will save thousands of hours for commuters, tourists and freight every week, unlocking the true potential of our ports to deliver economic growth.

“We’re building rather than blocking, so that we can get our economy growing. Approving these works, and the 2,000 homes it will support, is just another milestone on the way to delivering 1.5 million homes in this Parliament as part of our Plan for Change.

“This Government is investing in vital road schemes with huge economic benefits, and so far we’ve invested half a billion pounds for six schemes across England to renew our long neglected national infrastructure.”

The government said the junction is a key interchange for economic growth, connecting the ports at both Southampton and Portsmouth to ship millions of tonnes of freight every year, providing a vital link for those travelling to the South coast and beyond.

As well as faster journeys, drivers in Hampshire are also set to benefit from improved road surfaces, thanks to a recently announced £52.9 million uplift in highway maintenance funding for Hampshire. This is part of the government’s record £1.6 billion investment to fill the equivalent of 7 million potholes and repair roads across England.

The scheme will see the number of lanes on the M3 increased from three to four through the junction, as it passes under a wider gyratory, with free-flowing links between the M3 and the A34 in both directions.

The project is one of a number of significant motorway infrastructure projects being carried out which impact drivers from the Portsmouth area. Works are ongoing to improve the M27 near Hedge End, and a large scale project will also soon begin to improve junction 10 of the M27 to support the building of 6,000 new homes at Welborne.

Works on a huge scheme to improve the A3/M25 interchange will be completed later this year.