JUST when you thought it couldn’t get any worse on our roads.
Southampton drivers face more motoring misery when the biggest repair works in the 33-year history of the Itchen Bridge start this summer.
Lane restrictions and overnight closures could both come into force when the £1m project starts in July.
The revelation comes just a day after it was announced the nearby Central Bridge would be shut down for a year for safety repairs.
Work on the Itchen Bridge, which opened in 1977, is expected to last seven months.
Detail of speed limits or lane diversions have yet to be decided, but at this stage it is not thought there will be daytime closures of the bridge. It’s expected most of the works will be carried out with temporary traffic lights.
Workmen will be replacing 16 defective bearings, which, if left untouched, could weaken the structure of the bridge.
They will also repair the drainage system and carry out other maintenance work.
The council’s public realm manager John Harvey said: “Residents and businesses will be fully consulted before work starts and we will be sympathetic to the needs of local houses and the impact that roadworks can have on their daily life.”
The cost of the works will be paid out of the Itchen Bridge maintenance fund, which is funded by the bridge’s toll.
Works on Central Bridge, which carries the A3025 over the railway on the approach to the toll bridge, starts on Monday.
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