Hampshire traffic: M3 near Winchester to be closed on Tuesday as work to repair damage bridge continues - with drivers from Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport and Southampton warned to avoid the route

National Highways said there will be a number of lane closers in effect on the M3 northbound, at junction 11 – south of Winchester.

Drivers should either avoid this area or look to use alternative routes, the agency has warned.

The junction was closed last night to allow for repairs to the Shawford railway bridge.

The road was reopened this morning with a 50mph speed limit in place.

However, a further set of repairs will be required to complete this safety critical work, and these are being arranged through overnight closures, starting Tuesday 26 July, in order to minimise disruption to traffic. Further details will be published next week.

Rob Bell, South east network operations manager for National Highways, said: ‘We thank people for their patience while we repair the defect and reopen the road. The defect was identified during a routine inspection of the bridge and for your safety we established the defect posed a risk to the travelling public so took immediate steps to close the lanes affected.

‘In the meantime, drivers should leave extra time for their journeys or find an alternative route. The road is expected to fully reopen as soon as possible.’

National Highways provides live traffic information via its website www.nationalhighways.co.uk/traffic, local and national radio travel bulletins, electronic road signs and mobile apps.  

Local services are also available via National Highways’ Twitter account, @HighwaysSEAST.