Major road closure to impact 3,100 Portsmouth fans heading to Charlton on Saturday

Pompey fans heading to Charlton by coach or car on Saturday are advised to plan their routes carefully and to leave extra time for their journeys.

That’s because the the A3 - the main artery that connects Portsmouth to London - will be closed in both directions between Send (B2215/A247), which is south of Guildford, and the M25 Junction 10 Wisley Interchange.

The closure, between Friday, February 23 (9pm) and Monday, February 26 (5.30am), is to accommodate the demolition of two existing bridges on the A3 - and will impact fans' journeys to south-east London there and back.

The Blues have sold out their ticket allocation of 3,100 for Saturday’s game at the Valley. That will be Pompey’s biggest away following of the season to date, exceeding the 2,927 members of the Fratton faithful who travelled to Derby back in September. John Mousinho’s side are currently six points clear at the top of League One, with six wins from their past seven games. However, the Blues have won just one of their past 10 games against the Addicks.

Diversions will be in place for a journey that would normally take just over two hours. Alternative routes from the city could see fans head east along the A27 towards Brighton, before joining the M25 via the M23. That’s a journey that covers the same distance and has a similar ETA.

Fans also have the option of heading west to Southampton before heading towards London on the M3. That journey, though, is significantly longer in both distance and time.

Blues supporters are also warned that on the weekend of March 15-18, junctions 10-11 of the M25 will also be closed in both directions, which will have an impact on fans heading to Peterborough for Pompey’s game against Darren Ferguson’s promotion hopefuls.