Traffic: M3, M27 and A31 delays as motorists flock to the South Coast

Motorists are being warned of long delays to journeys this morning (Saturday 16 July) as people flock to beaches on the South Coast.

Temperatures will climb over the weekend, and the Met Office has issued an amber warning for heat covering much of England and Wales from Sunday until Tuesday.

Saturday is set to start with overcast skies and scattered showers in northern areas, before turning dry across the nation as the extreme heat moves in.

M3

J9-14

Long queues have been reported on the M3 Southbound between Winchester (9) and Southampton (J14) for the M27.

Traffic monitoring service, Waze, shows average speeds of 20mph for the 5 mile stretch of road.

Romanse estimates that there are delays of at least 20 minutes on the stretch of motorway, which is also undergoing barrier replacement work.

There are also queues on the Northbound carriageway as people approach the A34, which is causing congestion back to the M27.

J7-6

An earlier RTI on the Northbound stretch of the M3 has now cleared. But residual congestion remains on the Southbound carriageway.

M27

Queues have been reported at Junction 1 on the M27, where three lanes merge into two.

Traffic is currently moving slowly for around a mile.

Alternative roads to the coast, such as via Lyndhurst, are also reporting queues according to Waze.

Romanse is also reporting 20 minutes of queues on the A337 at Lyndhurst.

A31

Traffic is moving slowly Westbound on the A31 between Cadnam and Ringwood.

Romanse has reported queues of at least 30 minutes between Stoney Cross and the junction for the A338 at Ringwood.