M27 motorway
Route information
Length:	25.0 mi (40.2 km)
Existed:	1972 – present
History:	Constructed 1972–1983
Major junctions
From:	Cadnam 50°55′06″N 1°35′35″W / 50.9182°N 1.5930°W / 50.9182; -1.5930 (M27 motorway (western end))
	J3 → M271 motorway J4 → M3 motorway J12 → M275 motorway
To:	Portsmouth 50°50′12″N 1°03′54″W / 50.8366°N 1.0650°W / 50.8366; -1.0650 (M27 motorway (eastern end))
Location
Primary destinations:	Southampton, Fareham, Portsmouth, (Ringwood), (Bournemouth), (Salisbury), (Winchester), (Chichester), (Brighton)
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways • A and B road zones

Looking down onto the M27 from Portsdown Hill.

M27 Between Junctions 5 and 7 (there is no junction 6)

The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is 25 miles (40 km) long and runs west-east from Cadnam to Portsmouth. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983. It is unfinished, as an extension to the east was planned.^[1] A number of smaller motorways were proposed, connecting the city centres of Southampton and Portsmouth to the motorway^[2]; of these only the M271 and M275 were built.

Two sections of the M27 near Southampton and Portsmouth have been widened to four lanes each way.

Route[link]

Running approximately parallel both to the coast of the Solent and to the A27, the M27 starts as an eastwards continuation of the A31 from Bournemouth and Poole, meets the A36 from Salisbury, crosses the Wessex Main Line railway, and then meets the M271 to central Southampton. After the M271, the road becomes a dual four lane motorway and passes Rownhams services, it then meets the M3, becoming a dual three lane motorway as it passes to the north of Southampton, passes Southampton Airport, 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 Portsmouth. At this point the motorway ends, becoming the A27.

History[link]

Opening dates[link]

The M27 was opened in stages (in common with many UK motorways) between 1975 and 1983.^[3]

• Junction 1 to 2 opened in 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, 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.^[4]

Unfulfilled plans[link]

It has been said that the M27 was intended as a motorway connecting south coast towns from Penzance to Ramsgate.^[5] However the only proposal of a route similar to that was by the Institution of Highway Engineers in 1936.^[1][6][7] Road developments in the New Forest are also restricted due to its National Park status.

The M27 was meant to be extended to Chichester; a sign of this is the width of the A27 road between Junction 12 and the junction with the A3(M), which has 3/4 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.^[1][8]

The M272 was meant to go from Junction 5 through Portswood to the centre of Southampton, joining with an extended M271 (that would have followed a similar route to today's A33). 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.^[2]

A planned service area 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.^[9]

Junctions[link]

Data^[10] from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information. Where a junction spans several hundred metres and start and end points are available, both are cited.

Information above gathered from Advanced Direction Signs April 2011

Nearby attractions[link]

Junction 1 is about 1,800 metres (2,000 yd) (2,400 metres (2,600 yd) 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.^[11]

See also[link]

• List of motorways in the United Kingdom

References[link]

External links[link]

• CBRD Motorway Database - M27
• The Motorway Archive - M27
• TAB-MSAS: Photo Gallery: M27

v t e Motorways in the United Kingdom Great Britain M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M6 Toll M8 M9 M11 M18 M20 M23 M25 M26 M27 M32 M40 M42 M45 M48 M49 M50 M53 M54 M55 M56 M57 M58 M60 M61 M62 M65 M66 M67 M69 M73 M74 M77 M80 M90 M180 M181 M271 M275 M602 M606 M621 M876 M898 A1(M) A3(M) A38(M) A48(M) A57(M) A58(M) A64(M) A66(M) A74(M) A167(M) A194(M) A308(M) A329(M) A404(M) A601(M) A627(M) A823(M) Northern Ireland M1 M2 M3 M5 M12 M22 A8(M) Former M10 M41 M63 A18(M) A40(M) A41(M) A102(M) A6144(M) Unbuilt New M4 M12 M13 M15 M16 M31 M64 Category Commons

Coordinates: 50°53′39″N 1°18′34″W / 50.8941°N 1.3094°W / 50.8941; -1.3094 (M27 motorway, approximate mid-point)