Hampshire County Council has declared the M27 Junction 10 improvement scheme ‘full steam ahead’ following the completion of formal funding agreements.
The £100m upgrade will support the development of Welborne Garden Village to the north of Fareham, with 6,000 new homes and community amenities but there were fears earlier this year that it might fall foul of escalating costs.
It will include a new motorway underpass and three new slip roads to the west of the existing junction, creating an ‘all moves’ junction for the first time since the motorway was built.
A new dual carriageway will also be built to link the new slip roads to the existing road network.
The county council is delivering the scheme, working with National Highways, and has appointed VolkerFitzpatrick as the contractor.
It has now signed funding agreements with Buckland Group, the master developer of Welborne, and Homes England.
Hampshire CC leader Nick Adams-King said: ‘It is vital that the right infrastructure is in place to unlock the full potential of Welborne Garden Village. Therefore, it is positive news that all the necessary formal agreements have been completed, allowing us to press on with the delivery of these important road improvements.
‘Recently completed preparatory work on site has enabled us to progress swiftly into full delivery of the main scheme.’
Mark Thistlethwayte, chairman of Buckland Group, said: ‘These upgrades will improve local connectivity and traffic flow, connecting Fareham as well as Welborne and the A32 to the M27 in both directions.
‘Buckland has agreed to underwrite over 95% of a £100m-plus funding package for this critical regional infrastructure project, supported by Housing Infrastructure funding from Homes England.’
Cllr Simon Martin, executive leader of planning authority Fareham Borough Council, said: ‘This Council has been clear from the outset that it is imperative that the new community of 6,000 homes, supporting facilities and employment provision being created at Welborne Garden Village is accompanied by all the necessary infrastructure to ensure that it fully realises its potential.’
Although most of the construction work for the scheme will be on land away from the existing public highway, there will be some temporary impacts on the network and there is currently reduced capacity on the A32 north of the M27.
Over the Christmas period next year, a new underpass will be installed under the motorway just west of the existing A32 overbridge.
The underpass will be pre-constructed as a concrete box on land next to the M27 and then slid into position using a ‘boxslide’ engineering approach, significantly shortening the construction time and reducing overall disruption, but requiring a full closure of the M27 between junctions 9 and 11.
The estimated completion date is late 2026.
