Mr Volker’s £210m motorway works approved

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has given the green light to the £210m Volker-Fitzpatrick motorway project in the south of England.

Contractors will renovate Junction 9 of the M3 near Winchester, Hampshire, after a development consent order was granted.

Volker-Fitzpatrick was appointed to the scheme in 2022, but it took 14 months for the proposal to be reviewed by the Planning Inspectorate.

Mr Harper rubber-stamped the project this week after receiving the group’s recommendation to approve it three months ago.

At peak times, more than 6,000 vehicles can pass through the junction per hour.

The upgrade will create four lanes of traveling traffic in each direction, creating a free-flowing link between the motorway and the A34.

Volker Fitzpatrick also plans to build three new bridges, relocate a major junction roundabout, and provide new underpasses and other structures.

The existing sub-base will be tested and re-erected, and the contractor said measures were being taken to minimize ecological impact on surrounding areas, including the South Downs National Park.

The company has committed to working with nearby elementary schools and subcontractors in the surrounding area.

National Highways is conducting land and public facility surveys during the planning process and is working on more detailed design work, with some roads closed at night.

Work on the main project could begin on site early next year.