£290m project to widen M3 junction gets go-ahead despite cost leap

The Government has approved a £290m project to make changes to junction 9 of the M3 in South Hampshire. National Highways has proposed the widening of the junction along with two new bridges on the gyratory, allowing the M3 to increase from 3 lanes to 4 as it passes through the junction. Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, 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.”

South Downs National Park Authority had previously voiced concerns that the project would have a negative impact on biodiversity and the landscape, but appears to have muted its views.

The project has not faced any legal challenges, but campaign group Transport Action Group (TAN) said it was “shocked” by the Government’s decision to approve the project. Costs have risen by a third over the past two years, up from £215m to £290m, TAN said.

Chris Todd, director of Transport Action Network said: “The original figures presented to the Examination and the Secretary of State included inflation and other risks. So why have costs shot up by over a third to £290m in only two years?

It can only be that National Highways is hiding the true cost of its schemes in order to get them approved, or is incredibly bad at its job. Either way it is a damning indictment of National Highways and illustrates why it should be scrapped.

“In this instance there were no legal challenges for the Government to blame and the scheme’s already questionable business case should have meant it was binned. It is therefore disappointing to see Labour greenlighting this dubious road investment.”

A National Highways spokesperson told LTT: “As a project moves through different stages of development and construction, the cost of the scheme is subject to change due to many variables including inflation and the cost of materials.

“The current forecast figure remains within our original cost range estimate and is comparable with other major projects of similar complexity.

“We constantly review and monitor these costs to deliver best value for money for the taxpayer.”

National Highways estimates that peak time journeys through the junction to the A272 into Winchester will be almost 30% faster. Between the M3 and A34, drivers will save more than 20% of their overall journey time during peak hours, it said.