Winchester is set to see faster, safer journeys and 2,000 new
homes, as Ministers approve the M3 J9 scheme in South Hampshire,
the Government has announced today (13th March 2025).
Backed by £290m of Government funding, the road scheme will
significantly speed up journey times, reducing the current
bottleneck, and saving commuters, businesses, and tourists
hundreds of hours each week.
Peak time journeys through the junction to the A272 into
Winchester will be almost 30 per cent faster. Between the M3 and
A34, drivers will save more than 20 per cent of their overall
journey time during peak hours.
The scheme is also essential to building 2,000 new homes in
Winchester, another milestone for this Government's Plan for
Change to deliver 1.5 million homes over the next 5 years. To
deliver this target, last month the Government also announced it
was approving over £200m for the A47 Thickthorn Junction in
Norwich, which will support 43,000 homes in Norwich.
To mark this significant landmark for drivers and businesses in
Hampshire, the Transport Secretary, visited the M3 J9 to mark the
approval of the scheme and understand its impact on the local
economy.
Transport Secretary, , said:
“Anyone who uses this junction knows how frustrating it can be.
But our £290m investment will save thousands of hours for
commuters, tourists and freight every week, unlocking the true
potential of our ports to deliver economic growth.
“We're building rather than blocking, so that we can get our
economy growing. Approving these works, and the 2,000 homes it
will support, is just another milestone on the way to delivering
1.5 million homes in this Parliament as part of our Plan for
Change.
“This Government is investing in vital road schemes with huge
economic benefits, and so far we've invested half a billion
pounds for six schemes across England to renew our long neglected
national infrastructure.”
The junction is a key interchange for economic growth, connecting
the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth to ship millions of
tonnes of freight every year, providing a vital link for those
travelling to the South coast and beyond.
Ministers have given the go ahead to the project as part of a
wider drive to unblock vital transport infrastructure
development.
Since entering office, the government has approved over £200m for
the A47 Thickthorn Junction, and £90m for the A130 Fairglen
Interchange, the South East Aylesbury Link Road, the A350
Chippenham Bypass, the A647 scheme in Leeds. This is a total of
over £580m for schemes to get Britain moving. The Government is
also supporting the expansion of Heathrow Airport.
The new design will also improve safety; by extending the
southbound slip road onto the M3 so traffic has more time to join
the motorway.
The government is providing £290 million for the scheme which is
expected to generate millions more for the local economy of South
Hampshire. It is part of the government's Plan for Change to
renew infrastructure and grow the economy.
With the aim to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure across
the UK, the government is focused on improving the UK's road
network to increase economic growth.
As well as faster journeys, drivers in Hampshire are also set to
benefit from improved road surfaces, thanks to a recently
announced £52.9 million uplift in highway maintenance funding for
Hampshire. This is part of the government's record £1.6
billion investment to fill the equivalent of 7 million potholes
and repair roads across England.
The scheme will see the number of lanes on the M3 increased from
three to four through the junction, as it passes under a wider
gyratory, with free-flowing links between the M3 and the A34 in
both directions.
Several new, safer routes for pedestrians, cyclists, and horse
riders will also be built, connecting Kings Worthy and Winnall
and Long Walk and Easton Lane. The area will also see benefits to
the environment, as National Highways will be introducing 22.2
acres (equivalent to 13 football pitches) of ancient chalk
grassland, a species-rich grass that grows on top of chalk and is
said to be Europe's equivalent of tropical rainforest. Since the
Second World War, 80% of these grasslands have been lost.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Journeys through the junction to the A272 into Winchester
will be up to 4 mins faster during peak periods, a saving of 29%
- almost a third off the average journey time.
- The time saving between the M3 and A34 (21%) is 1m30s on a
7m11s journey, in future years this rises to 3m3s which equates
to 32% by 2042.
