Boban John
The government has today issued a press notice announcing the go-ahead of the M3 J9 improvement scheme.
This is the third time that this National Highways scheme has received final approval.
The development consent order was originally signed on 16th May 2024 by the previous Conservative transport secretary Mark Harper.
National Highways thus announced it had ‘the green light’ on 17th May last year.
But National Highways then applied to the secretary of state on 26th June 2024 for corrections to be made to the order. Harper’s Labour successor as transport secretary, Louise Haigh, issued a correction notice and correction order to make changes to development consent order on 9th October 2024, thus giving it final approval.
The Department for Transport has today declared that only now has the project got the green light.
Whatever is going on with the news management, it really does seem to be happening now.
What is news, though, is the price tage. National Highways still had the price of the scheme at between £190m and £210m on its website this morning but costs have spiralled since that was last updated. The Department for Transport is now allocating £290m for it – a 50% escalation.
A joint venture of Balfour Beatty and VolkerFitzpatrick is main contractor for the project. VolkerFitzpatrick was appointed in December 2022 and brought in Balfour Beatty as subcontractor.
The M3 J9 upgrade project will see the number of lanes on the M3 increased from three to four through junction 9 as it passes under a wider gyratory, with free-flowing links between the M3 and the A34 in both directions.
It involves the construction of three new bridges, rearranging the main junction 9 roundabout and providing a number of other structures including new underpasses.
Traffic can already be heavy in the area but is set to get worse because 2,000 new homes are planned for Winchester.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander, who replaced Haigh in November, said today: “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.”
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