Hallowe’en motorway warning for drivers

By Connor Steel

DRIVERS have been warned to plan ahead with the announcement that the M27 will be shut again this coming Hallowe’en weekend.

This latest three-night closure has been officially confirmed by Hampshire County Council officials over the last few days and shared widely through social media channels.

A stretch of motorway between Junction 9 for Whitely and Junction 11 for Fareham starting will be closed eastbound only to vehicles starting at 9pm on October 29 (Friday), opening at 6am on November 1 (Monday) to allow for deep reconstruction of the carriageway and resurfacing under Operation Resilience.

The eastbound closure was originally planned to take place in early October, just one week after the conclusion of similar works on the westbound carriageway. But wet and windy weather forced staff to postpone the original timetable, with a dryer and consistent weekend ahead according to early forecasts.

Traffic travelling eastbound should leave the M27 at Junction nine by taking the third exit at the roundabout on the A27 towards Fareham. Drivers should then continue on the eastbound A27 and then can re-join the M27 at Junction 11 as normal, although signed diversions will be placed at regular intervals across the routes.

Long tailbacks are expected in the affected areas around both junctions, hence the advice that drivers should plan ahead and leave extra time for their journeys. This will be particularly useful for those attending Halloween events and parties that are planned for the upcoming weekend, which will also see the clocks go back to Greenwich Mean Time.

Drivers are further advised that both junctions will be open for access throughout the weekend, with Whitely and Fareham shopping centres open as normal as payday approaches for many. But again they are warned of heavy congestion on key routes due to these closures.

The latest closure comes as one lane of the M27 Junction 9 slip road was shut for three days over the weekend of October 15, which saw the eastbound carriageway temporarily reduced to two lines. Further work is planned in both local boroughs over the weeks leading up to Christmas, including Virginia Park Road in Gosport and Bridge Street in Titchfield.

National Highways provides live traffic information via its website (www.highwaysengland.co.uk/traffic), local and national radio travel bulletins, electronic road signs and mobile apps. Information is also available from the regional Twitter feed at @HighwaysSEAST.