Hundreds of people have got involved in a recent consultation on proposals to improve the busy M3 junction 9 at Winchester.  

The scheme, which would see a major revamp of junction 9 (Winnall Interchange) is designed to improve safety, reduce congestion and make journeys quicker for traffic interchanging between the M3 and the A34 to and from the Midlands.   

Highways England ran an eight-week consultation on the proposals between Thursday 27 May and Thursday 8 July. Almost 250 people responded on the proposal and more than 100 people attended the seven online webinars run during that time.

Highways England project manager, Jon Roose, said, “The current junction is one of the region’s most notorious congestion hot spots and we hope that over the last eight weeks we’ve shown drivers, business owners and local residents how this project is going to make a real difference in improving people’s journeys.

“We have been greatly encouraged by the response to our consultation and I would like to thank everyone who got involved; the feedback we received will play an important role in the evolution of our design. We were really pleased to hear that the overwhelming majority who participated found the webinars and phone consultations useful. Our attention will now turn to analysing what people have told us, so we can take it into account and continue to develop our proposals to maximise the benefits for everyone.”

Early feedback from the consultation events revealed that people recognise the need for the scheme and are happier with the new design, with many commenting that they feel the layout is much safer. Respondents also welcomed the new plans for the connections to and from the A33 avoiding the A34.

There was some concern over the limited  cycling and horse riding provision, and Highways England says this is something the project team will carry out further work on.

(Picture – an artist’s impression of what the new M3 junction 9 will look like when complete, courtesy of Highways England)