Test Valley Borough Council will write to the CEO of National Highways, asking him to provide ‘a date by which all current ongoing road works on the M27 will be completed’ following an announcement from National Highways that works will ‘step up a gear’ as they reach the halfway mark.
The letter – which was proposed by Cllr Nik Daas and will be sent within the next few weeks – passed unanimously with cross-party support. Speaking to Highways, Cllr Daas said that he felt that this 'was a show of strength' and that 'people throughout the 30 plus miles borough' were aware of the problems with the M27 and were concerned about it.
The main prompt to propose the letter, he added, came after he and other councillors had spoken to residents of Test Valley.
‘The area has a lot of commuters that are travelling on the M27 west daily,’ he added, ‘and a lot of people going east down towards Portsmouth, Hedge End and Eastleigh, so a lot of people have been commenting [on the work]. The comments have been increasing, probably over the last year.’
The financial impact was also an area for concern, with factors such as commuting times and local shipping companies raised as being impacted by the wokrs when he addressed the council on 23 April.
Cllr Daas did say that the announcement that the halfway mark of the work had been reached was positive, but also noted that, whilst the works were needed and would be beneficial, there was still growing frustration from residents and councillors.
With work beginning on smart motorway upgrades for the M27 in 2018 and continued works since that point, he stated: ‘There's a lack of trust in terms of getting things done. And I think that was the reason for writing to the CEO; to say, well, we need some reassurance.’
The resurfacing work, which commenced at the beginning of 2024, has so far been focused solely on the eastbound carriageway between junctions 5-7 and has seen the installation of a new low-noise road surface, better drainage and improved safety barriers, National Highways stated.
Richard Scrase, programme delivery manager for National Highways, said: ‘We have made great progress, and our work to improve the eastbound carriageway of the M27 between junctions 5 and 7 is now complete.
‘We are now gearing up to do the same and provide a low-noise road surface, make significant drainage improvements to the road and safety improvements to the central reservation on the westbound carriageway.’
National Highways has stated that there will be overnight closures between 9pm and 6am throughout May, the first of which being a full carriageway closure on 3 May between junction 4 eastbound to junction 8, including the M3 southbound to M27 eastbound link.
There will also be a westbound contraflow in place from 5 May, with National Highways advising drivers to ‘allow extra journey time’.
Image credit: Shutterstock @P.Cartwright
