Six weeks of closures on busy Thomas Lewis Way

Thomas Lewis Way is to be closed from 8pm to 5am from May 4 for up to six weeks.

The road will be closed between its junctions with Dukes Road and St Denys Road, A3035.

The closure is to allow work to paint the overhead footbridge, which means the footbridge will also be fully closed to the public.

The bridge will be closed for a further two weeks so that the ramps can be painted, but Thomas Lewis Way will fully reopen.

A diversion route will be in place for motorists wishing to use the road between 8pm and 5am.

Southampton City Council says motorists should head north on Bevois Hill towards Forster Road and then continue onto Portswood Road.

They should urn right onto St Denys Road and the destination will be on the right.

A spokesperson from Southampton City Council said: "Thomas Lewis Way will be closed overnight between 8pm and 5am from Tuesday 4 May for up to 6 weeks to facilitate work to paint the overhead footbridge.

"During this period the footbridge will be fully closed and diversions will be in place.

"Following this period, we will need to keep the bridge closed for a further two weeks to paint the ramps, but Thomas Lewis Way will fully reopen."

The road was named after Thomas Lewis, born in St Mary’s in 1873, the son of John Lewis a dock worker from Jersey and the family lived in a shared house at 24 Melbourne Street when he was a boy.

From an early age Tommy was involved in the emergent local and national Labour movement.

In 1901 he became Southampton’s first Labour Party councillor, representing St Mary’s Ward.

He helped form local branches of the Dockers’ Union, the Ship Stewards’ Union and the National Sailors’ and Firemen’s Union.

Tommy played a small part in the story of the crew of the Titanic, who survived its sinking in April 1912.

He served on the Southampton Town Council for sixty years, becoming an Alderman and an Honorary Freeman of the borough. A commemorative portrait plaque was erected in the Civic Centre.