M27 motorway Romsey Road bridge work closure postponed

The Romsey Road Bridge works are expected to be completed in February

Work to demolish an old motorway bridge in Hampshire has been postponed.

A diversion route of up to 55 miles would have been in place for the final stage of the Romsey Road Bridge project on the M27, planned for 10 January.

Highways England said the work will now be carried out between 31 January and 3 February due to supply issues.

Previous weekend closures in September and June, as part of the £19m project, caused gridlock on the road network in Southampton.

The bridge carries the A3057 over the M27 between Upton and Nurtsling.

The final weekend closure will see redundant electricity cables and gas pipes removed from the old bridge before it is fully demolished.

A spokesman for Highways England said: "The change of date is down to issues with our supply chain, which couldn't be resolved."

Motorists face diversions of up to 55 miles westbound

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Although the closure is from Junctions 3-4, some of the traffic will be diverted off earlier at Junction 2.

Highway bosses said that for all westbound traffic, coming either from M27 in the Southampton area or on the M3 coming past Basingstoke, the diversion route is likely to use the A303 past Andover to Amesbury, down the A345 into Salisbury and on to the A36 towards the M27 at J2 (Ower).

The project is expected to be completed next month.