The M27 is a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, England. It is long and runs between

Cadnam Cadnam is a village situated in Hampshire, England, within the boundaries of the New Forest National Park. The village has existed since the medieval period, when it was (and still is) an important crossroads between Southampton and the towns of D ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983, providing the largest two urban areas in

(

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and

) with a direct motorway link. It is unfinished, as an extension into the county of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

was planned but never constructed. A number of smaller motorways were proposed, connecting the city centres of

and Portsmouth to the motorway; of these only the M271 and M275 were built. Three sections of the M27 have since been widened to four lanes each way, the first between Junctions 7 and 8, the second between Junctions 3 and 4, and the third begins at the slip road where Junction 11 joins until mid-way to junction 12.

Route

Running approximately parallel both to the coast of the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...

and to the A27, the M27 starts as an eastwards continuation of the A31 from Bournemouth and Poole, at

in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...

. The motorway meets the A36 from

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

, crosses the Wessex Main Line railway, and then meets the M271 to central

. After the M271, the road becomes a dual four lane motorway and passes

Rownhams services Rownhams services is a motorway service station on the M27 motorway, close to the junction for the M271 motorway which leads into Southampton. It is owned by Roadchef. In 2012, the westbound side was refurbished, and a McDonald's McDona ...

, it then meets the M3, (two lanes going off, two lanes continuing to the other side of the junction) reverting to a dual three lane motorway as it passes to the north of Southampton, passes

Southampton Airport Southampton Airport is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The airport is located north-north-east of central Southampton. The southern tip of the runway lies within the Sou ...

, meeting Junction 7 and becoming dual four lanes again, then becoming dual three lanes after Junction 8, it then runs alongside the West Coastway Line as it heads south-east towards Fareham. It then runs alongside the northern outskirts of Fareham, briefly with a fourth climbing lane in either direction, before its junction with the M275 to

. Very shortly after this point the motorway ends, becoming the A27, a four lane dual carriageway almost to motorway standards until the junction with the A3 (M) Motorway. The official reason for this section of road not being a continuation of the motorway is the

hard shoulder A shoulder, hard shoulder (British) or breakdown lane, is an emergency stopping lane by the verge of a road or motorway, on the right side in countries which drive on the right, and on the left side in countries which drive on the left. Many wide ...

s being too narrow. Although the M275 which the M27 junctions with, has no official hard shoulders throughout its entire length.

History

Opening dates

The M27 was opened in stages (in common with many UK motorways) between 1975 and 1983. *Junction 1 to 2 opened 20 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 South Stoneham Crematorium, which was located north of

South Stoneham Cemetery The South Stoneham municipal cemetery, situated off Mansbridge Road, Southampton (at ), was opened in early 1905, with the first burial taking place on 4 February, and was extended in 1927. The South Stoneham Crematorium was located north of the ...

, was demolished during 1973 to make way for the construction of the M27 motorway. The South Stoneham garden of remembrance is now located at the north end of the cemetery, adjacent to the motorway.

Unfulfilled plans

It has been said that the M27 was intended as a motorway connecting south coast towns from Penzance to Ramsgate. However the only proposal of a route similar to that was by the Institution of Highway Engineers in 1936. Road developments in the

are also restricted due to its national park status. The M27 was meant to be extended to

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

; a sign of this is the width of the A27 road between Junction 12 and the junction with the A3(M), which has 3-or-4 lanes, a hard shoulder and grade-separated junctions. It is not part of the M27 as its hard shoulders are not quite wide enough to comply with motorway regulations. The M272 was meant to go from Junction 5 through Portswood to the centre of Southampton. 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 to be numbered M273) connecting the M27 to the centre of the Townhill Park area of Southampton. A planned

service area Service area may refer to: * Rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary r ...

just east of Junction 9 was never constructed. The long westbound exit slip road at Junction 9 was designed to allow an entry to and exit from the service area.

2015 incident

In November 2015, an elderly woman, Marion Munns, died after falling from the A3057 bridge that crosses over the M27, into westbound traffic, just before Junction 3. She had not taken her anti-psychotic medication, and escaped from her Southampton home through an upstairs window before climbing off the garage roof and running away.

Smart Motorway Conversion

In March 2018, work began to convert the section between Junction 11 and Junction 4 to a Smart motorway. The scheme will turn the hard shoulder into a permanent 4th running lane, adding refuge areas along the route and installing new CCTV and speed cameras with mandatory variable speed limit signs. In early January 2019, official work began when average speed cameras were switched on between J5 and J4. Average speed cameras further along on the scheme will be turned on as work continues along the route. The work has suffered repeated delays, originally due to be complete in Spring 2021. The commissioning phase began in mid February 2022, during which time the smart motorway technology will be tested, including stopped vehicle detection radars. This is with a fully open carriageway and a 60mph speed limit controlled by electronic signs on new gantries and CCTV and speed cameras. The 60mph limit was lifted on 29th June 2022 when the upgraded section was fully opened and returned to the national speed limit.

Junctions

Data from

driver location signs Driver location signs are signs placed every along each side of English motorways, and some other major English roads, to provide information that will allow motorists to know their precise location. , roads in England, but not Scotland, Wale ...

are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information. Where a junction spans several hundred metres (yards) and start and end points are available, both are cited. {, style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em; color:black; font-size:95%;" class="wikitable" , - style="background:#0080d0; text-align:center; color:white; font-size:120%;" , colspan="6" , M27 motorway junctions , - !scope=col, miles !scope=col, km !scope=col abbr="Westbound", Westbound exits (B carriageway) !scope=col, Junction !scope=col abbr="Eastbound", Eastbound exits (A carriageway) !scope=col, Coordinates , - align="center" , rowspan="2", 0.0
1.2 , rowspan="2", 0.0
2.0 , ''Road continues as A31 to

The WEST West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...

, Weymouth, Poole, Bournemouth and Ringwood , rowspan="2", ''Terminus''
J1 ,

A336,

Brook A brook is a small river or natural stream of fresh water. It may also refer to: Computing *Brook, a programming language for GPU programming based on C *Brook+, an explicit data-parallel C compiler *BrookGPU, a framework for GPGPU programming ...

Bramshaw Bramshaw is a small village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It lies just inside the New Forest. The name Bramshaw means Bramble Wood. Until 1895, Bramshaw was divided into two parts, one half in Wiltshire, and one half in Hampshire. The ...

B3079, Lyndhurst A337
, rowspan="2", , - align="center" , The New Forest,

, Lyndhurst A337
, ''Start of motorway'' , - align="center" , 4.2
4.6 , 6.8
7.4 ,

A36, Fawley A326 , J2 , Salisbury, Romsey A36, Fawley A326,

Paultons Park Paultons Park is an amusement park located in the New Forest National Park, near the village of Ower, in Hampshire, England, with over 70 rides and attractions. The Peppa Pig World themed area is based on the children's animated television ser ...

, , - align="center" , 6.6
6.8 , 10.6
11.0 ,

, The Docks M271(S), Romsey M271(N) , J3 , Southampton, The Docks M271 , , - align="center" , , , ''

Rownhams Services Rownhams services is a motorway service station on the M27 motorway, close to the junction for the M271 motorway which leads into Southampton. It is owned by Roadchef. In 2012, the westbound side was refurbished, and a McDonald's McDona ...

(

Roadchef Roadchef is a company which operates 21 motorway service areas in the United Kingdom. It is the third-largest motorway service area operator in the country, behind Moto and Welcome Break and followed by Extra. History Roadchef was founded in J ...

)'' , ''Services'' , ''Rownhams Services (

)'' , , - align="center" , 9.4
9.8 , 15.2
15.7 ,

The MIDLANDS The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the In ...

, London, Winchester M3 , J4 , The MIDLANDS, London, Winchester M3 , , - align="center" , 11.7
11.9 , 18.9
19.2 , Southampton, Eastleigh,

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

A335 , J5 , Southampton,

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, ...

, Airport

A335 , , - align="center" , , , ''Non- existent'' , ''J6'' , 'Non-existent' , - align="center" , 15.5
15.7 , 24.9
25.2 ,

Hedge End Hedge End is a town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. Situated to the east of the City of Southampton, it adjoins the districts of West End and Botley. Hedge End lies within the Borough of Eastleigh and is part of the Southampton Urba ...

A334 , J7 , Hedge End, Botley A334 , , - align="center" , 16.2
17.0 , 26.0
27.4 , Southampton,

Hamble Hamble may refer to: * The River Hamble in Hampshire, England * Hamble aerodrome on the banks of the River Hamble. ** Hamble-Warsash Ferry, a ferry service on the River Hamble * Hamble-le-Rice, a village on the river Hamble, close to the city of Sou ...

, East Docks A3024 , J8 , Southampton (E), Hamble A3024 , , - align="center" , 19.9
20.6 , 32.1
33.1 , Fareham (W) A27,

Whiteley Whiteley is a community in the county of Hampshire, England, near Fareham. The development straddles the boundary between two council districts: the Borough of Fareham to the south and east, and the city of Winchester to the north and west. L ...

, J9 , Fareham (W) A27, Whiteley , , - align="center" , 23.2
23.5 , 37.4
37.8 ,

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

A32 (No access from A32 to M27) , J10 , ''No exit'' , , - align="center" , 24.4
24.7 , 39.2
39.8 , Fareham (C) A27, Gosport ( A32) , J11 , Fareham (C) A27, Gosport (A32) , , - align="center" , 27.7
28.1 , 44.6
45.2 ,

Ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

M275 , J12 ,

Cosham Cosham ( or ) is a northern suburb of Portsmouth lying within the city boundary but off Portsea Island. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 along with Drayton and Wymering (mainland) and Bocheland ( Buckland), Frodington (Fratton) and Co ...

Paulsgrove Paulsgrove is an area of northern Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Initially a small independent hamlet for many centuries, it was admitted to the city limits in 1920 and grew rapidly after the end of the Second World War. History Paulsgrove exi ...

Hilsea Hilsea is a district of the city of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. Hilsea is home to one of Portsmouth's main sports and leisure facilities – the Mountbatten centre. Trafalgar School, Portsmouth, Trafalgar School (formerly the Ci ...

A27, Portsmouth (W),

M275 , , - align="center" , rowspan="2", 29.0 , rowspan="2", 46.6 , ''Start of motorway'' , rowspan="2", ''Terminus'' , ''No exit, access to A3 via J12'' , rowspan="2", , - align="center" ,

A3(N),

A3(S) , ''Road continues as A27 to

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Cast ...

, Portsmouth (E),

, Brighton and London (A3(M))'' , - align="center" , - , colspan=6, Notes *Distances in kilometres and carriageway identifiers are obtained from

/location marker posts. Where a junction spans several hundred metres (yards) and the data is available, both the start and finish values for the junction are shown. *Coordinate data from ACME Mapper. , -

Nearby attractions

Junction 1 is about ( by road) from The Rufus Stone, where King William II, also known as William Rufus, was killed in what may have been a hunting accident in 1100.As measured o
Google Maps
/ref>

References

External links

CBRD Motorway Database – M27TAB-MSAS: Photo Gallery: M27
{{DEFAULTSORT:2-0027 Motorways in England Roads in Hampshire Transport in Hampshire