M27 motorway
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| M27 motorway | |
| Length | 25 miles 40 km |
| Direction | West - East |
| Start | Cadnam |
| Primary destinations | Romsey Southampton Fareham |
| End | Portsmouth |
| Construction dates | 1972 - 1983 |
| Motorways joined | 3 -  M271 motorway 4 -  M3 motorway 12 -  M275 motorway |
The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is 25 miles (40km) long and runs east-west from Cadnam to Portsmouth.
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[edit] Route
Running approximately parallel both to the coast of the Solent and to the A27. Travelling from the west along its route, the M27 crosses over Wessex Main Line railway and then meets the M271. The road then meets the M3 as it passes to the north of Southampton and south of Eastleigh, runs alongside the West Coastway Line as it heads south-east towards Fareham. It then runs alongside the northern outskirts of Fareham before meeting the M275. At this point the motorway ends, becoming the A27.
[edit] History
[edit] Opening dates
In common with many UK motorways, the M27 was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983[1].
- Junction 1 to 2 opened in August 1975
- Junction 2 to 4 opened in December 1975
- Junction 4 to 7 opened in 1983
- Junction 7 to 8 opened in February 1978
- Junction 8 to 12 opened in March 1976
- The eastbound junction to the now M3 was completed in 1986.
[edit] Unfulfilled plans
There have been plans to make the M27 part of a motorway connecting Exeter to Dover. However road developments in the New Forest are restricted due to its National Park status.
The M272 was meant to go from Junction 5 through Portswood to the centre of Southampton, joining with an extended M271 (that would have run a similar route to the A33 today). The M272 was instead built (in much reduced form) as the A335 Thomas Lewis Way.
Junction 6 was never built; There were plans for a motorway spur (probably numbered M273) connecting it to the centre of the Townhill Park area of Southampton [2].
The question of what happened to the M274 is unanswered, although it has been suggested that it could have been part of a grander plan for the A32 from Junction 11 (Fareham and Gosport)[specify].
A planned service area just east of Junction 9 was never constructed. The lengthy westbound exit onto Junction 9 was originally to allow an entrance and exit into the service area.
The A27 between Junction 12 and the junction with the A3(M) is built with a hard shoulder and grade-separated junctions. It is, however, not part of the M27 as its hard shoulders are not quite wide enough for Motorway regulations[3]. Other suggestions have been that there is a below regulation height footbridge. Another suggestion is that there is not a suitable parallel main road to this short stretch of the A27 - to offer an alternative route for non-motorway traffic[specify].
[edit] Future plans
- There is a planned widening of the motorway to dual 4 lanes between Junctions 3 & 4 [4].
- A climbing lane is planned between Junctions 11 and 12 eastbound to relieve congestion at this point [5].
[edit] Junctions
| M27 Motorway | ||
| Westbound exits | Junction | Eastbound exits |
| Road continues as A31 to Bournemouth | J1 | Lyndhurst A336 Cadnam B3078 |
| Lyndhurst A336 Cadnam B3078 |
Start of Motorway | |
| Salisbury, Bath A36 Romsey (A3090) |
J2 | Salisbury, Bath A36 Romsey (A3090) |
| Southampton West and Docks, Romsey M271 | J3 | Southampton West and Docks, Romsey M271 |
| Rownhams services | ||
| The MIDLANDS, London, Winchester M3 | J4 | The MIDLANDS, London, Winchester M3 |
| Southampton International Airport, Eastleigh, Southampton North A335 | J5 | Southampton International Airport, Eastleigh, Southampton North A335 |
| Hedge End, Southampton (East) A334 | J7 | Hedge End, Southampton (East) A334 |
| Bursledon, Hamble-le-Rice, Sarisbury Green A27 | J8 | Bursledon, Hamble-le-Rice, Sarisbury Green A27 |
| Fareham West, Whiteley A27 | J9 | Fareham West, Whiteley A27 |
| Alton A32 (North Only) | J10 | No exit |
| Fareham Central, Gosport A27 (A32) | J11 | Fareham Central, Gosport A27 (A32) |
| Cosham A27 | J12 | Cosham A27 |
| Start of Motorway | J12 | Portsmouth West, Ferries M275 |
| Portsmouth West, Ferries M275 | Road continues as A27 to Chichester and Brighton | |
- NB. There is no junction 6
[edit] Congestion
The M27 can suffer from significant congestion at these points:
- Between Junction 2 and the end of the motorway heading westbound due to the A31 narrowing to 2 lanes and climbing a short hill.
- Both directions between Junction 3 and Junction 4.
- Eastbound between Junction 2 and Junction 3 and on the approach to the Junction 12 in the morning.
- Westbound between Junction 7 and Junction 5 in the morning.
- Heading westbound between Junctions 12 & 11 during the evening. Junction 10 also suffers problems in this direction.
- The eastbound exit-slip of Junction 9.
[edit] Nearby attractions & views along motorway
Junction 1 is about 1 mile from The Rufus Stone, where King William II aka King Rufus was killed in a hunting accident in the year 1100.
You can get some nice views near the New Forest, and alongside the River Hamble. There is a good view of the Isle of Wight between junctions 11 and 12 (to the east of the large cutting).
[edit] Trivia
The UK’s first solar motorway sound barrier was installed at Junction 9 in March 2004. The 50 m long solar panel was installed by solarcentury for the Highways Agency. It generates up to 11kW of electricity.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ M27 - The South Coast Motorway and A3(M) Statistics and options. The Motorway Archive Trust. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
- ^ Overall plans for the city. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
- ^ M27 - The South Coast Motorway, M271, M275 and A3(M). Retrieved on January 25, 2007. “The land acquired for this stretch of the motorway was not quite wide enough - by less than a foot - and the Chief Highway Engineer of the day, quite rightly if a little pedantically, ruled that it didn’t conform to motorway standards and must therefore be an all-purpose trunk road.”
- ^ M27 Jcts 3 - 4 Widening. Highways Agency. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
- ^ M27 Jcts 11-12 Climbing Lanes. Highways Agency. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
[edit] External links
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Motorways in the United Kingdom | |
| Great Britain: M1 • M2 • M3 • M4 • M5 • M6 • M6 Toll • M8 • M9 • M10 • M11 • M18 • M20 • M23 • M25 • M26 • M27 • M32 • M40 • M42 • M45 • M48 • M49 • M50 • M53 • M54 • M55 • M56 • M57 • M58 • M60 • M61 • M62 • M65 • M66 • M67 • M69 • M73 • M74 • M77 • M80 • M90 • M180 • M181 • M271 • M275 • M602 • M606 • M621 • M876 • M898 | ||
| A1(M) • A3(M) • A38(M) • A48(M) • A57(M) • A58(M) • A64(M) • A66(M) • A74(M) • A167(M) • A194(M) • A308(M) • A329(M) • A404(M) • A601(M) • A627(M) • A823(M) | ||
| Northern Ireland: M1 • M2 • M3 • M5 • M12 • M22 • A8(M) | edit | |
| Past: M16 • M41 • M63 • A18(M) • A40(M) • A41(M) • A102(M) • A6144(M) Unbuilt: M12 • M13 • M15 • M31 • M64 Future: M4 Toll | ||
