Getting to Southampton to go on our latest cruise presented us with a few problems. (Getting home was also problematic ... but that is another story!) This was due to the closure of a section of the M27 so that a bridge could be replaced.
The M27 is twenty-five miles long, and runs between Cadnam (to the north-west of Southampton) and Portsmouth, and it is almost impossible to get into the centre of Southampton without using or crossing that road. Unfortunately, all the cruise terminals are in the centre of Southampton, and the weekend we had to go to Southampton was the weekend when it had been decided to close a section of the motorway so that a thirty-year-old bridge could be replaced.
To avoid absolute chaos on the roads in and around Southampton, Highways England instituted a series of diversions. Vehicles travelling eastwards from Southampton had to use the following diversion:
Local road traffic moving around the road closure had to use a different diversion:
Vehicles travelling westwards towards Southampton had to use a much longer diversion:
As we live in London, which is north-east of Southampton, we were going to have to travel westwards towards Southampton.
As a result, our normal journey of 114 miles seemed to be no longer possible ... and we were going to have to travel at least an extra 30 miles to get to our destination. Furthermore, the diversion would take us along the A303 (one of the most traffic-overloaded main roads in the UK) to Amesbury before going southwards towards Salisbury, and then on to Ower to the west of Southampton. We would then have to negotiate our way through the traffic in Southampton to get to the Mayflower Cruise Terminal.
So what actually happened?
We set off along our normal route ... but an hour earlier to allow for delays. On reaching the beginning of the diversion along the A303, our car’s sat nav informed us that there were no delays on our normal route ... so we ignored the diversion. When we reached the point where the M3 joined the M27, it diverted us along local roads from Eastleigh to Southampton, with the result that we arrived at the cruise terminal about forty-five minutes earlier than we would normally have done. All the minor detour had done was to add fifteen minutes to our journey!
Once aboard our ship, I did meet some people who had taken the westwards route shown on the map ... and it had delayed their arrival in Southampton by up to two hours! Others had done as we had ... and found that the extra journey time was minimal.
So, for once, our sat nav proved its value!
Please note that the maps featured above are © Highways England, the Ordnance Survey, and Google Maps.
The M27 is twenty-five miles long, and runs between Cadnam (to the north-west of Southampton) and Portsmouth, and it is almost impossible to get into the centre of Southampton without using or crossing that road. Unfortunately, all the cruise terminals are in the centre of Southampton, and the weekend we had to go to Southampton was the weekend when it had been decided to close a section of the motorway so that a thirty-year-old bridge could be replaced.
To avoid absolute chaos on the roads in and around Southampton, Highways England instituted a series of diversions. Vehicles travelling eastwards from Southampton had to use the following diversion:
Local road traffic moving around the road closure had to use a different diversion:
Vehicles travelling westwards towards Southampton had to use a much longer diversion:
As we live in London, which is north-east of Southampton, we were going to have to travel westwards towards Southampton.
As a result, our normal journey of 114 miles seemed to be no longer possible ... and we were going to have to travel at least an extra 30 miles to get to our destination. Furthermore, the diversion would take us along the A303 (one of the most traffic-overloaded main roads in the UK) to Amesbury before going southwards towards Salisbury, and then on to Ower to the west of Southampton. We would then have to negotiate our way through the traffic in Southampton to get to the Mayflower Cruise Terminal.
So what actually happened?
We set off along our normal route ... but an hour earlier to allow for delays. On reaching the beginning of the diversion along the A303, our car’s sat nav informed us that there were no delays on our normal route ... so we ignored the diversion. When we reached the point where the M3 joined the M27, it diverted us along local roads from Eastleigh to Southampton, with the result that we arrived at the cruise terminal about forty-five minutes earlier than we would normally have done. All the minor detour had done was to add fifteen minutes to our journey!
Once aboard our ship, I did meet some people who had taken the westwards route shown on the map ... and it had delayed their arrival in Southampton by up to two hours! Others had done as we had ... and found that the extra journey time was minimal.
So, for once, our sat nav proved its value!
Please note that the maps featured above are © Highways England, the Ordnance Survey, and Google Maps.
Hi Bob- Perhaps you should take a Lottery Ticket soon - as your luck is certainly good with your chosen route to Southhampton. Cheers. KEV.
ReplyDeleteKev Robertson,
DeleteI’m buying a lottery ticket tonight!
All the best,
Bob
I have often driven to Southampton from 'up north' and my satnav invariably takes an entertaining cross country route for the last 30 miles or so to to avoid the monumental traffic jams where the M3 and M27 meet, particularly on a Friday evening.
ReplyDeleteMartin Rapier,
DeleteThe route from London to Southampton Docks actually never joins the M27, as the turn off is before the M3 morphs into the M27.
Luckily, we rarely have to go to Southampton during the rush hour, but when we have, the delays have been as bad as any I’ve faced in London.
All the best,
Bob