Motorway slip road to close for 18 months

A motorway slip road will be closed for about 18 months while major works to upgrade the junction are carried out.

Drivers will not be able to join the M3 northbound at Winchester, instead facing a six-mile diversion on the motorway in the opposite direction.

From Friday the entry slip road at junction 9, heading towards Basingstoke and London, will be closed until winter 2027.

The closure is the latest part of National Highways' junction 9 roadworks, which it said aim to improve journey times.

The diversion will take drivers southbound on the M3 to junction 11, where they will leave the carriageway and then rejoin the motorway heading northbound.

Drivers are also warned of three weekend closures at the junction 9 roundabout, which will mean no access to or from the M3.

The closures will see workers finish road connections to the new roundabout and bridges.

The first begins at 21:00 BST on Friday, and the roundabout is due to reopen at 06:00 on Monday 3 August.

The M3 will remain open during the weekend closures, but the slip roads on and off the motorway at junction 9 will be closed.

Stretches of the A34, A33 and A272 Spitfire Link will also be closed during the weekend closures.

• Friday 31 July from 21:00 BST to 06:00 on Monday 3 August
• Friday 21 August from 21:00 BST to 06:00 on Monday 24 August
• Friday 11 September from 21:00 BST to 06:00 on Monday 14 September

National Highways urges drivers to "check which roads are affected and plan their route carefully before setting off".

It is hoped the new roundabout will be ready to open later this year, however work on the £268 million to £322 million project is set to continue for a number of years.

Tom Beasley, National Highways programme manager, said: "This junction is a key interchange for economic growth, connecting the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth to the rest of the country, but it needs an upgrade to unlock its full potential."

Work to reconfigure the roundabout will allow for the M3 to increased from two lanes to four as it passes underneath the junction.

National Highways said once completed, drivers travelling between the M3 and A34 will save more than 20% of their overall journey time during peak hours.