Portsmouth ‘The News’ Road Pictures

[zapalniczka]

The online local paper / website often have articles featuring old photos of construction, here’s some great pictures of some local roundabouts under construction.

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/heritage-a ... am-3336986

[Chris5156]

The online local paper / website often have articles featuring old photos of construction, here’s some great pictures of some local roundabouts under construction.

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/heritage-a ... am-3336986

Picture number 4 is interesting. It shows a view west from Portsbridge Roundabout (at the eastern end of the M27), looking at the motorway under construction at a point when the embankments had been graded but no road bed had been built.

The embankments are continuous into the distance, whereas the motorway as built includes bridges just west of Portsbridge Roundabout spanning a never-built road towards the former IBM campus. The picture suggests the embankments originally left no space for it, so after they were built the opening for the underpass must have been dug out again. Was it a late change of plan?

[Fluid Dynamics]

[quote=zapalniczka post_id=<a href="tel:1329345">1329345</a> time=<a href="tel:1708723299">1708723299</a> user_id=6501]
The online local paper / website often have articles featuring old photos of construction, here’s some great pictures of some local roundabouts under construction.

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/heritage-a ... am-3336986

Picture number 4 is interesting. It shows a view west from Portsbridge Roundabout (at the eastern end of the M27), looking at the motorway under construction at a point when the embankments had been graded but no road bed had been built.

The embankments are continuous into the distance, whereas the motorway as built includes bridges just west of Portsbridge Roundabout spanning a never-built road towards the former IBM campus. The picture suggests the embankments originally left no space for it, so after they were built the opening for the underpass must have been dug out again. Was it a late change of plan?
[/quote]

Interesting pictures. I grew up in the area in the 70’s and 80’s, but was born in 1972 so can never remember a time before the M27 and M275, but remember the flyovers being built at Rudmore and on the A27 at Fareham. My father worked in the large office block just to the East of the Rudmore roundabout when the M275 was being constructed. With regards Chris’ question, I expect the explanation might be that the embankments seen at this stage were the result of the land reclamation works rather than final highways form. The space under the bridge immediately west after the roundabout was of course never used.

What is also interesting about picture 4 is the A27 immediately west of the roundabout. I had always assumed that the dualling towards Portchester pre-dated this era, but the picture seems to indicate the section being dualled contemporary to Portsbridge roundabout being constructed which I presume was delivered at the same time at the Farlington bypass?

[OliverH]

It reminds me of the pictures that are sometimes shown off on the Yorkshire Evening Post's website.

The websites look similar, and after some research, it turns out they are owned by the same company called National World.

[SteveM]

What is also interesting about picture 4 is the A27 immediately west of the roundabout. I had always assumed that the dualling towards Portchester pre-dated this era, but the picture seems to indicate the section being dualled contemporary to Portsbridge roundabout being constructed which I presume was delivered at the same time at the Farlington bypass?

Western Road was initially dualled from Hilsea up to the central 'roundabout' where IBM was to take its access. At that point it wasn't clear what the northern section might look like.

The northern dualling came a little later and only when the main build of the M27 / M275 was under way (the reclamation was done a few years before the main build). The original plan was for the A27 to pass under the roundabout from Western Road into Southampton Road, and link towards Portchester. And of course during that period the discussions with IBM for their UK HQ were ongoing, one of the reasons why the M274 doesn't exist; I believe from other posts here that the earlier plans for the junction with the M275 was that it would terminate on the M27 at a roundabout over the mainline, with another roundabout to the west linking the M27 with the A27 as M274, with the two roundabouts linked together at high level, a similar arrangement to M25 junctions 30/31 (but on a smaller scale).

I expect that once IBM started getting involved, with big money being able to maximise the amount of land they could use (it was all reclaimed using the Dutch 'polder' method) then the free flowing junction emerged which has proved the better option anyway.

Pity a similar opportunity didn't present itself in Southampton at J3!