NEW YORK, January 3, 2026, 04:14 ET
- M27 between Junctions 9 and 11 reopened at 4 a.m. Saturday, 24 hours ahead of schedule
- Lane restrictions and a 50 mph speed limit remain in place as crews finish work at Junction 10
- Junction 10 overhaul is part of a £100 million-plus project linked to Welborne Garden Village
Britain’s M27 motorway between Junctions 9 and 11 in Hampshire reopened 24 hours ahead of schedule at 4 a.m. on Saturday after crews installed a new underpass at Junction 10, Hampshire County Council said. The council said lane restrictions and a 50 mph speed limit will remain in place while teams complete remaining work, after traffic was diverted onto routes including the A27 during the closure.
The early reopening restores a key link for drivers around Whiteley and Fareham after the Christmas and New Year shutdown. It also brings relief after days of disrupted journeys on surrounding roads.
That work is part of a £100 million-plus upgrade to rebuild Junction 10 into a free-flowing “all-moves” interchange to support Welborne Garden Village, a planned community of up to 6,000 homes near Fareham, Hampshire County Council said. The council said the scheme is funded by Welborne developer Buckland Group and Homes England and will also include a shared footway and cycleway linking Fareham Common and the development. The two-year project is due to be fully open to traffic in winter 2026, and planning conditions cap occupations at Welborne until the junction is completed and operational, it said. Hampshire County Council
Hampshire County Council said crews used a “box slide” — installing a pre-built concrete box by sliding it into place under the motorway — a technique used only a handful of times in the UK. A 60-metre-long underpass weighing about 8,500 tonnes was moved 65 metres into position before the road surface was reinstated, ITV reported. “We are delighted to be able to reopen the M27 earlier than planned,” National Highways programme leader Andrew Jackson said. ITVX
Work began on Christmas Eve and had been scheduled to finish at 4 a.m. on Sunday, but teams completed it a day early after favourable weather and round-the-clock shifts, an Itchen Valley Parish Council update said. It said about 130 crew members contributed around 10,000 hours over the closure.
Lane restrictions and the 50 mph limit remain on the reopened stretch as crews carry out follow-on work around Junction 10. Authorities said the reduced speeds are intended to protect both drivers and workers.
An “all-moves” junction is designed to let drivers join and leave the motorway in every direction, rather than restricting certain turns. The aim is to improve access and reduce bottlenecks as the surrounding network is rebuilt.
National Highways, which operates England’s motorways, says the Junction 10 scheme is being delivered by Hampshire County Council and started in October 2024. It lists the end date as autumn/winter 2026 and said the full closure ran from 24 December to 3 January.
Hampshire County Council said it delivered the project with main contractor VolkerFitzpatrick in collaboration with National Highways. The council said the “box slide” approach was intended to avoid a longer period of rolling restrictions and extensive overnight works.
