The consultation on the proposed ‘M27 Southampton Junctions’ scheme, which seeks to “address current issues of congestion and capacity restraints along the A3024 corridor”, and which involves among other things changes to Bitterne Rail Bridge, closes on October 31.

Highways England says it’s been tasked to deliver: “…additional capacity at Junction 8 [M27] through improvements to the Windhover Roundabout”.

It proposes work is carried out on local roads, and at two railway bridges – Bitterne station and Northam – “to allow traffic to avoid unnecessary travel on the motorway”.

Views are being sought on the proposal to “improve how traffic flows on this route and to assist in reducing delays on the M27 between junctions 5 and 8”.

Some opposition to the plans has already been expressed: Southampton Cycling Campaign have commented on the proposals on their Facebook page, saying they are “slightly underwhelmed by the cycling infrastructure” being proposed.

One commenter on the post said this was "a very measured response", while another described it as a “complete lost opportunity”.

A local campaigner previously told bitternepark.info that a more radical approach would be to prioritise reducing traffic going into the city centre.

You can read more in our previous article about the proposed ‘M27 Southampton Junctions’ scheme here.

You can read about Highways England’s proposals in their brochure (PDF).

There’s also some more information about the proposals on this Highways England page while you can take part in the survey itself, which is here, until the end of October.

Cycling sign image under CC2 by Sarah Joy